Presidential polls 2022: Odia tribal leader Droupadi Murmu is NDA's candidate

NEW DELHI: Former Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu is all set to become the first tribal woman to hold the highest office of the Republic, as the 64-year-old emerged the consensus Presidential candidate of the BJP-led NDA late on Tuesday evening. The New Indian Express was the first to report on June 10 that she was leading the Presidential race in the NDA.

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2022

Sharing the news after deliberations at the BJP parliamentary board, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders, BJP national president JP Nadda said, "We wanted to take a woman candidate from east India, especially from the tribal community. After consultation with allies and others, we have decided to field Murmu."

Nadda said that Murmu's life has been dedicated to the service of the nation and upliftment of the downtrodden, adding that preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate for the first time. "She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation," he added.

Soon after Murmu was named as the BJP-led NDA's presidential candidate, Prime Minister Modi said she has devoted her life to serving society and expressed confidence that she will be a "great President". Born in 1958 in a poor tribal family in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Murmu rose to her present stature after struggling through ups and down throughout her life.

She was the first governor to complete a five-year term in tribal-dominated Jharkhand (2015-2021). She also served as the minister for commerce and transports in the BJP-Biju Janata Dal coalition government in Odisha from 2000 to 2002. 

Who is Droupadi Murmu?

An arts graduate from Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar, she worked as an asst professor in Sri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Centre, Rairangpur. She joined BJP in 1997