The Bhartiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has named the former Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu as its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
The decision, announced by BJP president JP Nadda, was taken in the BJP parliamentary board meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at party headquarters in Delhi earlier this evening.
“For the first time, preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate. We announce Smt. Draupadi Murmu as NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections,” Nadda said after the meeting.
Murmu would become the first tribal President of India and the second-ever female President if she is elected.
Hailing from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district and coming from a tribal community, Murmu started out as a teacher and then entered into Odisha politics.
She became MLA twice on a BJP ticket from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj (2000 and 2009).
Born on June 20, 1958, in a tribal family struggling with poverty in one of the most remote and underdeveloped districts, Murmu served as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.
She has held several key positions within the party throughout her political career. Murmu was also a national executive member of the BJP’s ST Morcha from 2013 to 2015.
She started off her political career by winning as a councillor and becoming the vice-chairperson of Rairangpur, Odisha, in 1997. The same year, she was elected the state vice-president of the BJP’s ST Morcha.
Earlier, today, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced that Yashwant Sinha (Ex-TMC leader) will be the common candidate of the Opposition parties for the Presidential election, which will take place on July 18, 2022.
