Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA announced former Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu as its presidential candidate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is confident that she will be a great President.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “Draupadi Murmu has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, the 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.” “Millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Draupadi Murmu. Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country,” PM Modi said.
Murmu is a former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister. She will be facing opposition candidate, former Minister of Finance and External Affairs Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential elections on July 18.
Murmu is India’s first prominent tribal female presidential contender. She will be India’s first tribal President and the country’s second female President if elected.
She is the first significant Presidential contender from Odisha, and if won, she will be the country’s first President from the state of Odisha.
Born on June 20, 1958, she pursued BA at Ramadevi Women’s College Bhubaneswar.
She started her political career as Rairangpur NAC vice-chairman. Droupadi Murmu was member of Odisha Legislative Assembly from Rairangpur between 2000 and 2004. As a minister, she held portfolios of Transport and Commerce, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. She again served as MLA in the Odisha assembly from 2004 to 2009.
In 2007, Odisha assembly honoured her with ‘Nilakantha Award’ for best MLA. She served as junior assistant in Irrigation and Power Department between 1979 and 1983. She has held several organisational posts in BJP and was vice president state ST Morcha in * 1997.
Droupadi Murmu was a national executive member of BJP’s ST Morcha from 2013 to 2015 and served as BJP district chief of Mayurbhanj (West) in 2010 and 2013.
Between 2006 and 2009, she was chief of BJP’s ST Morcha in Odisha. She was a member of the national executive of BJP ST Morcha from 2002 to 2009.
The deadline for registering presidential nominations is June 29, polling will take place on July 18, and ballots will be tabulated on July 21.
