BJP announces Draupadi Murmu as NDA’s candidate for Presidential polls

On Tuesday, June 21, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) announced Draupadi Murmu as the NDA’s candidate for presidential polls. Ms Murmu has served as the Governor of Jharkhand.

The 64-year-old Ms Murmu hails from a tribal community of Odisha and if elected she will be the first tribal woman to become the President of India. During the 2017 presidential polls, MS Murmu was considered a strong candidate but was replaced with the then Governor of Bihar, Mr Ram Nath Kovind.

PM Narendra Modi stated that Ms Murmu will be a great president of the country. “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,” PM Modi tweeted.

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

Draupadi Murmu was the first female Governor of Jharkhand. She started her political career as a counsellor and later became the Vice-Chairperson of the Rairangpur National Advisory Council.

Earlier today, the Opposition has announced Yashwant Sinha as the joint candidate for the presidential polls. Yashwant Sinha has served as the Finance Minister of the country under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. He has also handled the Ministry of External Affairs.

The process of selecting the new president started on June 15. The last date to file the nomination is June 29. If required, the polls will take place on July 18.