Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 21 JUNE: NDA has announced former Jharkhand governor, Draupadi Murmu, as its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Draupadi Murmu, is the second women and a first tribal presidential candidate.
Earlier in the day joint opposition parties announced senior leader Yashwant Sinha as their candidate. Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha who had joined TMC had earlier resigned from the party. He announced his resignation through twitter hinting that he was resigning to take on bigger responsibilities throwing a hint at his presidential candidature.
With the announcement of NDA candidate the speculations over the possible candidates have come to an end.
Following the announcement of NDA’s presidential candidate, Prime Minister Narendra 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.”
“Millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country,” PM Modi added.
Born in the Santhal community, Droupadi Murmu began her political career as a councillor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a minister in the Odisha government in 2000 and later the Governor of Jharkhand in 2015.
A two-term former MLA from Rairangpur, Droupadi Murmu held on to her assembly seat in 2009 when the BJD had snapped ties with the BJP weeks ahead of the state elections which were swept by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Droupadi Murmu also holds the distinction of becoming the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. If elected, Murmu will also be the first president to be born after Independence.
Tags: #DraupadiMurmu #PresidentialCandidate #NDA #Jharkhand #Odisha
