Ram Nath Kovind was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh during the two terms of 1994-2000 and 2000-2006. He is an advocate by profession and practices in Delhi. He is a former President of the BJP Dalit Morcha (1998-2002) and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He also served as national spokesperson of the party. On 8 August 2015, he was appointed him the Governor of Bihar. He is NDA's candidate for Indian presidential election 2017.