The state of Tamil Nadu has given the maximum number of Presidents.
Ram Nath Kovind became the 14thPresident of India when he took charge on 25 July 2017. He is arguably the first Uttar Pradesh born President and second President from the Dalit community. Kovind was born in Kanpur district and was a lawyer for 16 years at Delhi High Court and Supreme Court before entering politics. Although the third President of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain, also belonged to Uttar Pradesh, was born in Hyderabad and later his family migrated to Uttar Pradesh.
India’s second President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, eighth President Ramaswami Venkatraman, and eleventh President Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam were born in the state of Tamil Nadu (or erstwhile Madras Presidency). So, the state of Tamil Nadu has given three Presidents of India. Although India’s fourth President Varahgiri Venkata Giri, the only person to be elected as an independent candidate, was active politically in erstwhile Madras Presidency/State, he was born in Odisha in a Telugu Brahmin family.
The First President of India, Rajendra Prasad, was born in Bihar and has the honor of being the longest-serving president of India – from 26 January 1950 till 13 May 1962. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India by the Constituent Assembly. After the first General Elections of India, he was twice elected by the electoral college – in 1952 and again in 1957.
Third President of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain, had the shortest tenure (less than 2 years) in office – from 13 May 1967 till 3 May 1969.
There had been four instances when India has had an Acting President. After the death of Dr. Zakir Hussain, the then Vice President, V. V. Giri became the Acting President of India and assumed office from 3 May 1969 till 20 July 1969. Justice M. Hidayatullah, the then Chief Justice of India, assumed office as Acting President of India from 20 July 1969 till 24 August 1969, when V.V. Giri resigned from his post to contest the next Presidential Election. On the death of F. A. Ahmed, the fifth President of India, B.D. Jatti, the then Vice President of India, assumed office as Acting President from 11 February 1977 till 25 July 1977. M. Hidayatullah, the then Vice President of India, officiated as Acting President of India for a brief period from 6 October 1982 till 31 October 1982 when President Gyani Jail Singh visited the US for medical treatment.
| S. No. | Name | State | Tenure |
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad | Bihar | 1950 to 1962 |
| 2 | S. Radhakrishnan | Tamil Nadu | 1962 to 1967 |
| 3 | Zakir Hussain | U. P. (Born in Telangana) | 1967 to 1969 |
| 4 | V.V. Giri | Tamil Nadu (Born in Odisha) | 1969 to 1974 |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | Assam | 1974 to 1977 |
| 6 | Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy | Andhra Pradesh | 1977 to 1982 |
| 7 | Gyani Jail Singh | Punjab | 1982 to 1987 |
| 8 | R. Venkatraman | Tamil Nadu | 1987 to 1992 |
| 9 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | Madhya Pradesh | 1992 to 1997 |
| 10 | K. R. Narayanan | Kerala | 1997 to 2002 |
| 11 | APJ Abdul Kalam | Tamil Nadu | 2002 to 2007 |
| 12 | Pratibha Patil | Maharashtra | 2007 to 2012 |
| 13 | Pranab Mukherjee | West Bengal | 2012 to 2017 |
| 14 | Ram Nath Kovind | Uttar Pradesh | 2017 to Present |
| Acting Presidents | |||
| S. No. | Name | State | Tenure |
| 1 | V.V. Giri | Tamil Nadu (Born in Odisha) | 1969 to 1969 |
| 2 | Mohammed Hidayatullah | Maharashtra (Born in Uttar Pradesh) | 1969 to 1969 |
| 3 | B. D. Jatti | Karnataka | 1977 to 1977 |
| 4 | Mohammed Hidayatullah | Maharashtra (Born in Uttar Pradesh) | 1982 to 1982 |
Related Link:
List of All Presidents of India Since India became Republic
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