Who is Draupadi Murmu, the BJP's choice for Presidential candidate?

New Delhi, June 22: Taking a great decision, the Bharatiya Janata Party named Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as the ruling NDA’s candidate for the forthcoming presidential election.

 

 

As per the announcement made by BJP President JP Nadda, Murmu will be pitted against former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been named as the opposition candidate. She is likely to file her nomination papers on June 25.

 

The presidential election is scheduled for July 18 and the votes will be counted on July 21. It should be highlighted that, if she won the election, then she will be breaking the glass ceiling and becoming India's first tribal President and second female President of India.

  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Murum and described her as someone who had "devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised".

 

 

 

Reacting to the announcement, Droupadi, said she was surprised to learn about her candidature and was unable to believe it and noted that she will work according to the powers of the President enshrined in the constitution.

 

She said she will reach out to members of the electoral college for their support. "I am surprised, I was not able to believe it. I am thankful, do not wish to speak much (at this stage)," Droupadi Murmu, a former Jharkhand Governor, said.

 

"Whatever powers are there of President in Constitution, I will work accordingly," she said in response to a query about her priorities if she is elected as president.

 

 

64-year-old Murum belongs to the Santhal tribe and is a resident of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. Murmu started her career with a government job, as a teacher at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Centre in Rairangpur.

 

She began her political career in 1997 as a councilor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat. The same year, Murmu was appointed vice-president of the BJP’s Scheduled Tribes wing.

 

Contesting on a BJP ticket Murmu won twice from the Rairangpur seat, becoming a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Odisha government in 2000. As a minister, she held the Commerce and Transport, and, subsequently, the Fisheries and Animal Husbandry portfolios. In 2007, the Odisha assembly awarded her the Nilakantha Award for best MLA of the year.

 

 

 

In 2015, Murmu was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. She was also the first woman and tribal leader from Odisha to be appointed as Governor of an Indian state.

 

Talking about her personal life, Murmu has battled multiple personal challenges. She lost her two sons and husband to personal tragedies. She single-handedly took care of her daughter’s education and upbringing.

 

For unreserved, Murmu was also considered for the post during the 2017 presidential elections. However, then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind was named as the government's choice for the post.