India is set to elect a new president from its Dalit community, only the second time it will have a head of state from the country's lowest and poorest caste.

Nearly 5,000 Indian MPs and provincial legislators from across the country voted on Monday to elect the new president for a five-year term.

The two-way contest is likely to be won by Ram Nath Kovind, a 71-year low caste Dalit lawyer and former state governor, who is backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

His election is being seen as a way for Mr Modi to gain political capital among the Dalit community, who number around 200 million in the nation of 1.3 billion, and are relegated to the margins of society.

Media on Monday reported the alleged beating of a Dalit labourer by upper-caste attackers.