PM Modi hosted a dinner for outgoing President Ramnath Kovind on Friday. (Twitter/@narendramodi)Presidential Election 2022 Result Highlights: NDA Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday scripted history by becoming the country’s first tribal President defeating Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha. Murmu, former Governor of Jharkhand, trounced challenger and Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, securing 64.03 per cent of the total votes polled. When the counting of votes concluded, it was clear that Murmu’s spectacular win had also been helped by some cross-voting — proof of division and confusion in Opposition ranks.
The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh on Friday claimed as many as 19 MLAs from the opposition camp voted in favour of President-elect Droupadi Murmu in the poll for the top constitutional post. Meanwhile, Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal has claimed that “resentment” against Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav got reflected in the presidential polls wherein Droupadi Murmu got more votes than the number NDA had in its kitty.
Murmu, 64, is the first Adivasi and second woman to become the nation’s First Citizen and the Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces. Murmu was elected to two terms in the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2004, and served as a Minister from 2000 to 2004 in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD-BJP coalition government. She was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand in 2015.
Narendra Modi; Amit Shah; Manmohan Singh; Mamata Banerjee cast votes. (PTI and Express Photos)
On December 19, 1946, speaking at the Constituent Assembly, Adivasi leader Jaipal Munda called the new constitution “an opportunity for my people who have suffered for 6,000 years”.
Subsequently on January 24, 1947, he admonished the Advisory Committee tasked with preparing schemes for the administration of tribal areas, that it never occurred to those responsible for the selection of the committee to have a tribal woman on it. Today, almost 75 years after Munda stood amidst our founders and spoke, India will have its first Adivasi President in Droupadi Murmu. I have no doubt that Munda would have smiled broadly at what he would have considered a fitting but long overdue election. Adivasis or the “earliest inhabitants”, are the original indigenous people living in India.
Scheduled Tribes constitute over 8.6 per cent of the population – as per the 2011 Census, the ST population is 104 million. They are found predominantly in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. President-elect Murmu is an inspired choice, given her identity as a Santhal woman. She is also a formidable and appropriate choice for President. She has a lifetime of experience in politics and in governance, having occupied positions as a legislator, minister, and governor.
Born in 1958, in the Uparbeda panchayat in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, she was the first woman in the area to go to college. She was elected twice to the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2009 and was also a minister in the coalition government formed by the BJP and BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik from 2000 to 2004. Subsequently, she was Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021. Read more.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hosted dinner for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind here with members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of various states and other dignitaries attending it.
President-elect Droupadi Murmu also attended the farewell dinner for Kovind whose term ends Monday. Official sources said the dinner had a good representation from all parts of the country, including many Padma awardees and tribal leaders.
A source said this dinner was "unique" as it did not have the usual Delhi-centric crowd and the emphasis was to make it more representative.
In a tweet, Modi said, "Hosted dinner in honour of President Kovind Ji. Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji, Venkaiah Ji, and other esteemed dignitaries, including ministers were present. We were also glad to welcome several grassroots level achievers, Padma awardees, tribal community leaders and others at the dinner." Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and members of the prime minister's Cabinet were present at the event. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also attended the dinner.
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal has claimed that "resentment" against Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav got reflected in the presidential polls wherein Droupadi Murmu got more votes than the number NDA had in its kitty.
Jaiswal, who did not mention Yadav by name, accused the RJD leader of treating his supporters, especially those from his own caste, as "vassals". "Our effective strength in the assembly was 125, as one of our MLAs could not vote. Murmu was supported by 133 members. This is evidence of cross-voting on a substantial scale," Jaiswal said on Friday.
The BJP leader said this was because of resentment in the Opposition camp against their leader who considered all his supporters as "his own halwaha, charwaha" (vassals). In an apparent reference to Yadav's recent claim that Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai had once expressed the desire to join RJD, Jaiswal said, "He cannot brook any member of Yadav community making it on his own. Such Yadavs become the target of his smear campaign." Jaiswal, who is a Lok Sabha MP, also mocked Yadav for flaunting RJD's strength in the 243-strong assembly. (PTI)
There is disquiet within Madhya Pradesh Congress after NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupdi Murmu polled 146 votes from the state Assembly against the Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha who managed only 79 votes.
This comes despite the Congress having 96 MLAs in the House of 230. But with five votes being declared invalid, of the 225 remaining votes, Murmu secured 146, effectively meaning at least 19 MLAs cross-voted, including 11 from the Congress.
The ruling BJP has 127 MLAs, Congress has 96, while two belong to Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), one to SP and four are Independents. Recently, one BSP, one SP and another Independent candidate had defected to the BJP, taking the party’s strength to 130 and had likely voted for Murmu. Read more.
There is much to celebrate in the election of Droupadi Murmu as the 15th President of India in the Amrit Mahotsav year of independence. In Murmu, the country not only has a Santhal tribal woman as the head of the state but also a leader from one of the country’s poorest regions. Her rise from the tribal lands of western Odisha to become the first citizen is a glowing tribute to the success of Indian democracy. Murmu brings with her rich experience in public life.
She is a well-educated woman from the family of a village headman. As a teacher and, later, as a people’s representative — first as a councillor in the local municipal body and subsequently as a legislator and minister in the Odisha government — Murmu had brought development to a relatively backward region. She had also won the best performing legislator award. Read more.
Leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Friday claimed that several TMC MLAs and MPs voted in favour of President-elect Droupadi Murmu.
Of the 291 MLAs who voted, 216 were cast in favour of opposition presidential nominee Yashwant Sinha, while 71 votes were cast in favour of Murmu. Four votes were declared invalid.
"As promised by me all 70 @BJP4Bengal (BJP) MLAs voted in favour of Smt. Draupadi Murmu ji. While 1 @AITCofficial (TMC) MLA cross voted in favour of the President Elect, 4 TMC MLAs ensured that their votes were regarded invalid. 71 votes were polled in favour of Smt. Murmu ji in WB Assembly (sic)," Adhikari tweeted. --PTI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday claimed that of the 22 opposition MLAs of the state, who voted for NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election defying their party line, 15-16 are from the Congress.
Altogether 124 MLAs of the 126-member assembly exercised their franchise in the presidential election on July 18, while two legislators from the AIUDF were outside the country.
Compared to the NDA's strength of 79 in the House, Murmu secured 104 votes, while joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha got 20. --PTI
The Election Commission on Friday issue a 'certificate of election' to NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu who has emerged victorious in the presidential poll.
The certificate is issued after the returning officer hands over the result to the poll panel. "CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar & EC Shri Anup Chandra Pandey jointly signed the 'Certification of the Election of Shrimati Droupadi Murmu as the next President of India' after ECI received the Return of Election & a Declaration of Result of election from the Returning Officer," the poll panel tweeted.
The certificate will now be sent to the Union Home Secretary, who will read it out at the oath-taking ceremony of the 15th President of India which is likely to take place at the historic Central Hall of Parliament House on July 25. (PTI)
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Droupadi Murmu is the new President of India. She defeated the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the election, the result of which was announced on Thursday (July 21).
Murmu, 64, is the first Adivasi and second woman to become the nation’s First Citizen and the Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces. Here are five things about the new incumbent of Rashtrapati Bhavan, who takes office in the historic 75th year of the nation’s Independence. Murmu has been a trailblazer from a very young age.
Born into a Santhal family in 1958, she was the first girl in Uparbeda, one of the seven revenue villages in Uparbeda panchayat in Odisha’s backward Mayurbhanj district, to go to college — the Ramadevi Women’s College, now the Ramadevi Women’s University in Bhubaneswar. Read more.
Congratulating President-elect Droupadi Murmu on her victory, Union Minister Anurag Thakur extended his gratitude to the members of the UPA who voted for her. "They rose above their party for the welfare of the country. Seeing a tribal woman rise to the highest post is a welcome sight," he told ANI.
Having a woman president is welcome, said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday after NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15th President of India. "I hope she will respect the constitution and democracy as this is what has brought her to this post. We wish her time to be successful," he told ANI.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday congratulated Droupadi Murmu on her election as the President of India, and said his party expects her to uphold the constitutional values.
"We welcome her victory and are happy that a tribal woman has assumed the top post. We supported her candidature. We expect her to uphold and protect the constitutional values," Raut, who is the party's chief spokesman, told PTI.
Murmu, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), scripted history on Thursday by becoming India's first tribal president in the one-sided contest, defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. (PTI)
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday termed Droupadi Murmu’s victory as a “historic moment” and said the country is celebrating it like a festival. (ANI)
The Election Commission will on Friday issue a 'certificate of election' to NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu who has emerged victorious in the presidential poll.
The certificate is issued after the returning officer hands over the result to the poll panel. It will be signed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey. The certificate will then be sent to the Union Home Secretary who will read it out at the oath-taking ceremony of the 15th President of India which is likely to take place at the historic Central Hall of Parliament House on July 25.
The term of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24. Droupadi Murmu scripted history on Thursday by becoming India's first tribal President in the one-sided contest, defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Murmu, 64, won by an overwhelming margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, comprising the electoral college, to succeed Ram Nath Kovind to become the country's 15th president. (PTI)
There is much to celebrate in the election of Droupadi Murmu as the 15th President of India in the Amrit Mahotsav year of independence. In Murmu, the country not only has a Santhal tribal woman as the head of the state but also a leader from one of the country’s poorest regions.
Her rise from the tribal lands of western Odisha to become the first citizen is a glowing tribute to the success of Indian democracy. Murmu brings with her rich experience in public life. She is a well-educated woman from the family of a village headman. As a teacher and, later, as a people’s representative — first as a councillor in the local municipal body and subsequently as a legislator and minister in the Odisha government — Murmu had brought development to a relatively backward region. She had also won the best performing legislator award.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s knack for spotting people with unique credentials helped Murmu become the first woman governor of Jharkhand in 2015. Her tenure as the governor of an Opposition-led state was non-controversial, earning her the goodwill and support of the ruling party in the state, the JMM, in the presidential election. Read more.
As counting of votes in the Presidential election concluded Thursday, it became clear that NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu’s spectacular win had also been helped by some cross-voting.
It was also proof of the division and confusion in Opposition ranks over thwarting the first tribal woman’s bid to occupy the highest office in the country. The ruling BJP claimed that 17 MPs from the two Houses of Parliament and 126 MLAs from states defied respective party lines and voted for Murmu. Many regional parties, despite their political reservations against the BJP, had indicated their willingness to see Murmu in Rashtrapati Bhavan. She bagged 2824 of the total 4701 valid votes, leaving just 1877 votes for the Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha.
Murmu secured 64.03 per cent of the total valid votes, less than what outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind got in 2017 — 65.65 per cent of the total votes polled. But the divide and bitterness then was the Modi government was just three years into its first term. Read more.
Scripting history Thursday, NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal woman to be elected to the highest post in the country, its 15th President. Murmu, former Governor of Jharkhand, trounced challenger and Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, securing 64.03 per cent of the total votes polled.
The 64-year-old will be administered the Presidential oath of office by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana at a ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament on July 25.
Even before the results were officially announced, Sinha congratulated Murmu and hoped she would function as the “Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour”. President Ram Nath Kovind greeted his successor. “Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Smt. Droupadi Murmu on being elected as the 15th President of India,” he said in a Twitter post. Read more.
"There is much to celebrate in the election of Droupadi Murmu as the 15th President of India in the Amrit Mahotsav year of independence. In Murmu, the country not only has a Santhal tribal woman as the head of the state but also a leader from one of the country’s poorest regions. Her rise from the tribal lands of western Odisha to become the first citizen is a glowing tribute to the success of Indian democracy," writes Ram Madhav. Read the full piece here
"On behalf of the government and people of Nepal, I would like to extend warmest congratulations to Droupadi Murmu on being elected as the 15th President of India. I am confident that the excellent bilateral relations between Nepal and India will see newer heights in the days ahead," Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba said.