Draupadi Murmu, the new President of India, is the country’s first tribal woman to win the top constitutional post. Murmu, a BJP leader, was NDA’s candidate for Presidential Election 2022 and had a clear edge over her political opponent Yashwant Sinha.

The front-runner to succeed Ram Nath Kovind as President of India is Draupadi Murmu, the NDA’s presidential candidate. Murmu competed for this top constitutional post against Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition’s nominee but had a clear edge of victory.

A soft-spoken leader, Draupadi Murmu entered Odisha politics via pure effort. Being elected as the president, she has become the only second woman and the first tribal person to assume the highest office. Murmu was also the first tribal woman to hold the office of governor in the state of Jharkhand.

Early Life of Draupadi Murmu

Born on June 20, 1958, to Biranchi Narayan Tudu, in a Santali tribal family in the Uparbeda village of the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. She excelled in her academics and was a devoted follower of Lord Shiva from a young age. She came from a ST household and overcame many obstacles to finish her further education after working as a teacher at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in Rairangpur. She later joined the BJP party in 1997 to start her political career. She married a banker, Shyam Charan Murmu, who passed away in 2014. The couple had a daughter named Itishri Murmu and two sons, both of whom passed away.

Political career of Draupadi Murmu

Being a resident of a less developed area, Draupadi completed her studies at a women’s college, and in 1997, she began her political career by winning a seat on the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat council. She was the National Vice-President of the BJP Scheduled Tribes Morcha in 2000.

Draupadi Murmu held the following roles under the Odisha coalition government led by the BJP and Biju Janata Dal.

On May 18, 2015, Draupadi Murmu took the oath of office to become the first female governor of Jharkhand and also becoming the first female tribal leader from Odisha to be appointed as a Governor of the Indian State.

She also served as Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transport and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development. She also served as an MLA for four years, from 2000 to 2004. She received the Nilkantha Award for her outstanding performance as an MLA, and she was hailed as the best party worker and MLA.

The BJP nominated Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate for the June 2022 election. She travelled to numerous States as part of her campaign for president in 2022 to gauge the support of BJP lawmakers and representatives from other opposition parties.

By choosing the first tribal woman, the BJP and their alliance has set a new historical record. All NDA leaders applaud this brilliant move and are thrilled to see Murmu be India’s 15th president.

The time for a woman tribal candidate to hold the highest position in the nation, the so-called beating heart of the Indian Republic, in 2022 have come.