<P> The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India . The President is also the Commander - in - chief of the Indian Armed Forces . Although they are vested with such powers by the Constitution of India, their position is largely a ceremonial role and the executive powers are de facto exercised by the Prime Minister . The post of President is known in Hindi as Rashtrapati, a Sanskrit neologism meaning "lord of the realm". The President is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies . </P> <P> Representation of Presidents by party of candidacy </P> <P> There have been 14 presidents of India since the introduction of the post in 1950 . The post was established when India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution . Apart from these fourteen, three acting presidents have also been in office for short periods of time . Varahagiri Venkata Giri became the acting president in 1969 following the death of Zakir Husain, who died in office . Giri was elected President a few months later . He remains the only person to have held office both as a president and acting president as well as the only person to be elected as an independent candidate . They may remain in office for a tenure of five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of the constitution of India . In the case where a president's term of office is terminated early or during the absence of the president, the vice president assumes office . By article 70 of part V, the parliament may decide how to discharge the functions of the president where this is not possible, or in any other unexpected contingency . Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, is the only person to have held office for two terms . </P> <P> Seven presidents have been members of a political party before being elected . Six of these were active party members of the Indian National Congress . The Janata Party has had one member, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who later became president . Two presidents, Zakir Husain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, have died in office . Their vice-presidents served as acting presidents until a new president was elected . Following Zakir Husain's death, two acting presidents held office until the new president, V.V. Giri, was elected . When Giri resigned to take part in the presidential elections, he was succeeded by Mohammad Hidayatullah as acting president . The 12th president, Pratibha Patil, is the first woman to serve as President of India, elected in 2007 . </P>

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