Meet Draupadi Murmu, Odia Tribal Leader Who Is BJP's Candidate For 2022 Presidential Polls

In a first, a tribal woman leader has been nominated as the Modi government's pick for the upcoming presidential race. Droupadi Murmu is up against Yashwant Sinha, who is a former Union Minister, the joint opposition candidate for the presidential polls for July.

If elected, the 64-year-old would become the first tribal female to hold the position of the President of India.

Who Is Droupadi Murmu?

The Bhartiya Janata Party parliamentary board had discussed 20 different names for presidential nominees, and it was decided to nominate someone from east India, a tribal and a woman, BJP Chief JP Nadda was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Murmu, a Santhal, was also the first female to be sworn in as the Jharkhand Governor back in 2015. The two-time BJP legislator from Odisha was also a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet when the Biju Janata Dal or BJD ruled the state with the assistance of the BJP.

Political Journey

The 64-year-old leader has diverse administrative experience, managing ministries such as commerce, transport, fisheries and animal husbandry in the Odisha state government.

Murmu began her political career as a councillor and later on became the Vice-Chairperson of the Rairangpur National Advisory Council or NAC.

Back in 2013, she went up to the rank of a national executive member of the party's Scheduled Tribe Morcha in the state. A Rama Devi Women's College - Bhubaneswar arts graduate, she spent nearly two decades in politics and social service as well.

Modi Lauds The Tribal Leader

Following the official announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and said: "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."

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

Later, Murmu also revealed that her name was also on the cards back in 2017 and asked Naveen Patnaik for his party's backing. However, Odisha's ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD), had instead backed NDA's candidate Ram Nath Kovind during the 2017 presidential elections.

Also Read: Here's Why This Tamil Nadu Doctor Bought A Car Using Just Rs 10 Coins In Dharmapuri