Former Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, is the NDA’s Presidential nominee for the July 18 elections, announced the BJP on Tuesday. If elected, Murmu, 64, will be the first tribal woman and second female to occupy the top constitutional office in the country’s history — a strong possibility as numbers are stacked in the favour of the BJP-led NDA.
By picking Murmu, a woman and a tribal from Odisha, the BJP seems to have put out an important political statement in the Presidential elections, after Ram Nath Kovind, who was a Dalit leader from UP.
Murmu has the distinction of being the first-ever woman Governor of Jharkhand, who served the office from 2015-2021. She is also the first woman and tribal leader from Odisha to be named governor of a state.
The party declared Murmu’s name after it held its parliamentary board meeting at the BJP head office in Delhi on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, among others, were present at the meeting.
Addressing the media, Nadda said, “For the first time, preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate. We announce Draupadi Murmu as NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections.”
Murmu will be pitted against the Opposition’s joint Presidential nominee former Union minister Yashwant Sinha.
Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Murmu and said he is confident that “she will be a great President of our nation”.
Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2022
‘Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation,” the PM wrote.
“Millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country,” the PM added in another tweet.
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