If Draupadi Murmu emerges victorious in the Presidential Elections in July, she will be the first tribal woman to hold the highest office in India.
After the Opposition announced former BJP Union Minister Yashwant Sinha as its pick for presidency, the BJP-led NDA government put forth the name of former Jharkhand Governor and eminent party leader Draupadi Murmu.
If Murmu wins the Presidential polls of July, she will be the first tribal woman to hold the highest office in India.
Who is Draupadi Murmu?
Murmu is a 2-time MLA from Odisha who has also served as a minister in the CM Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJP) state government. In the BJD-BJP coalition, Murmu served as Minister of State with independent charge for Commerce and Transport between 2000 and 2002, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from 2002 to 2004. She won the Neelkanth award for best MLA from the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2007.
Murmu’s 2-decade political career began as a councilor. She went on to become the Vice-Chairperson of Rairangpur National Advisory Council. She became national executive member of BJP’s ST Morcha in 2013. In 2015, she became the first woman Governor of Jharkhand.
She studied arts at the Rama Devi Women's College in Bhubaneswar. She has served as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in the Odisha government. She also served as an honorary assistant teacher in the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in Rairangpur later in her life. She was married to the late Shyam Charan Murmu and had three children - one daughter and two sons. Murmu has seen a life marked by personal tragedies having lost her husband and both her sons.
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Hailing the NDA pick, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Murmu has devoted her life to service of the society and empowerment of the poor, downtrodden, and marginalised.
"She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation," He said.
"Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country," he added.
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