Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, was on Tuesday named the ruling NDA’s candidate for the forthcoming Presidential election. The decision was taken at the BJP’s parliamentary board meeting.
Earlier in the day, the Opposition had announced former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as its joint candidate for the post. The poll is slated for July 18. Here is everything you need to know about BJP’s candidate for Presidency.
If elected, Murmu would become the first tribal President and second female President of India.
Hailing from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, Murmu started out as a teacher before entering state politics.
She has been an MLA twice, on BJP ticket, from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj (2000 and 2009).
Murmu was first considered a contender five years ago, when President Pranab Mukherjee was set to leave Rashtrapati Bhavan
During the BJP-BJD coalition government that came to power in 2000, she held the Commerce and Transport, and, subsequently, the Fisheries and Animal Husbandry portfolios.
She managed to win in 2009 even as the BJP paled against the challenge put up by the by-then estranged BJD.
In 2015, Murmu was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand.
In her personal life, Murmu has seen much tragedy, having lost both her husband Shyam Charan Murmu and two sons.
Before she became an MLA, Murmu served as councillor in the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat, after winning elections in 1997, and as vice-president of the BJP’s Scheduled Tribes Morcha.
Her expected win as President – with the NDA commanding 48% of the electoral vote – will be a big boost to the BJP’s tribal push.
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