Tribal woman Draupadi Murmu is NDA presidential candidate

The BJP today made history by announcing Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman, as the Presidential candidate of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The voting for presidential elections will be held on July 18. If elected, she will be the country's first tribal President of India and second female President.

BJP president JP Nadda, while addressing the media, categorically stated that the BJP and its allies discussed over 20 names, finalised that of Murmu and made the announcement on Tuesday itself.

Draupadi Murmu was the first woman governor of Jharkhand. She served as Jharkhand Governor from 2015 to 2021.

Coming from a poor tribal family in a village of Mayurbhanj, a backward district in Odisha, Droupadi Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. She taught at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur.

By announcing Murmu, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has highlighted the party's ideas of empowerment of women and the tribal, the subject currently on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus. After nominating Ram Nath Kovind — a Dalit from Uttar Pradesh — as the President five years ago, the selection of a tribal leader now is a big message to the SC/ST population of the country.

In choosing Murmu, the BJP has shown the Opposition that their candidate is better symbolically and politically compared to the Opposition’s choice — Yashwant Sinha — who has always been perceived as a Modi-baiter.