Presidential election 2017: The voting to elect President of India will be held on July 17
A former Bihar governor known for an unflinching sense of justice and the first woman in India to hold the post of Lok Sabha speaker, both Dalits. The stage is set for a battle between National Democratic Alliance's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind and opposition's candidate Meira Kumar. Although, the endgame of the polls is seemingly predictable, it is undoubtedly going to be an interesting one.
Here are 5 little-known facts about presidential polls in India
This will be the second time India will elect a Dalit President since 1997. So far, KR Narayan has been the only person from the Dalit community to hold this post.
A special serial numbered pen with violet ink will be used for voting by lawmakers, who have been barred from carrying their personal pens inside the voting chamber. Following the ink controversy in the Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana in 2016, the Election Commission has decided to use special pens for the electors to mark their votes in the presidential and vice-presidential polls.
Electronic voting machines are not used in the 2017 elections as they are formatted for first-past-the post system of voting. The Election Commission has called for different coloured ballot papers for this year's polls. While it is green for members of Parliament, MLAs will use pink ballot papers to cast their votes.
Varahagiri Venkata Giri, commonly known as V V Giri, who held the post of president from 1969-74, became the first acting president of India after the death of Zakir Husain in his office. He is the only one who was both president and acting president.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was the only president to win unopposed in independent India. Even though 37 candidates filed their nominations, 36 of them were rejected. He was elected president following the death of Zakhir Hussian, who was the third president of India.
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