India votes for next president from the lowest Dalit caste

New Delhi

INDIAN lawmakers voted on Monday for a new president certain to come from the bottom of the Hindu caste system, in an election seen as strengthening Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grip on power. Some 4,900 legislators nationwide voted in what Mr Modi termed a "historic" election to choose the titular head of state.

Ram Nath Kovind, the candidate of Mr Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a former lawyer and state governor from the Dalit community, is certain to win. His main rival is Meira Kumar, the nominee of the Congress-led opposition and also a Dalit.