Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began on Monday. Polling began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote. The voting process would conclude at 5 pm. As India gears up to elect its 15th President, here's a look at the past 14 Presidents (there have been three acting Presidents) who served India. Pics/Rashtrapati Bhavan, AFP
Updated On: 2022-07-18 05:56 PM IST
Dr Rajendra Prasad - 26 January 1950 to 13 May 1962
Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first president of India who served the longest i.e. for over 12 years
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan - 13 May 1962 to 13 May 1967
Dr Radhakrishnan was the second president of India. He was also the first vice-president of India from 1952 to 1962 and his birthday which falls on September 5 is celebrated as Teacher's Day
Dr Zakir Hussain - 13 May 1967 to May 3 1969
Dr Zakir Husain became the third President of India and died at his post. The immediate Vice President, VV Giri was made the acting President. After that, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Mohammad Hidayatullah became acting President from 20 July 1969 to 24 August 1969. Hussain was also the first Muslim President of India
VV Giri - 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974
Giri is the only person to be elected as President as an independent candidate. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1975
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed - 24 August 1974 to 11 February 1977
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the fifth President and the second President who died in the post. After his demise, BD Jattha was made acting President
Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy - 25 July 1977 to 25 July 1982
Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the youngest President elected and was also the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
Giani Zail Singh - July 25 1982 to July 25 1987
GZ Singh was the seventh President of India and before becoming the President, he was also the CM of Punjab and a Union minister
R Venkataraman - July 25 1987 to July 25 1992
Venkataraman had earlier served as Vice President from 1984 to 1987. He is a receiver of 'Tamra Patra' for his contributions to India's freedom struggle
Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma - 25 July 1992 to 25 July 1997
From 1952 to 1956, Sharma was the Chief Minister of Bhopal and Cabinet Minister from 1956 to 1967. He was the eighth Vice President of India
KR Narayanan - 25 July 1997 to 25 July 2002
Narayanan was the first Dalit President of India and also the first President to vote in Lok Sabha elections
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam - 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007
Kalam was the first scientist who took over as President and was known as the ‘Missile Man of India’. He also won with the most votes
Pratibha Patil - 25 July 2007 to 25 July 2012
Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of India and also the first woman President to fly Sukhoi. She was a five-time MLA and Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra
Pranab Mukherjee - 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017
Mukherjee before becoming President had served as Union Minister in the Congress-led UPA govt
Ram Nath Kovind - 25 July 2017 - Incumbent
Kovind who is the fourteenth President of India was a member of the BJP and former Governor of Bihar