Big Breaking: BJP-led NDA announces Draupadi Murmu as presidential candidate

BJP-led NDA has announced Draupadi Murmu as its presidential candidate for the upcoming elections.

New Delhi: BJP-led NDA has announced Draupadi Murmu as its presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. 

Addressing the press, BJP chief JP Nadda said, "For the first time, preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate. We announce Draupadi Murmu as NDA's candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections."

Who is Draupadi Murmu?

Draupadi Murmu is a former Governor of Jharkhand. She is a tribal woman who hails from Odisha and will be fielded against former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been named as the opposition candidate. If elected, the 64-year-old leader will be the first tribal woman to become the President of India.

She was a strong contender for the post before the 2017 presidential elections. But on the occasion, then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who is a Dalit, was named as the government's candidate for the post. 

The first woman Governor of Jharkhand, Draupadi Murmu started her political career as a councillor and later she became the Vice-Chairperson of the Rairangpur National Advisory Council. 

A two-term BJP legislator was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet when the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ruled Odisha with the support of the BJP.

She became the National Executive member of the party's ST Morcha in 2013.

A Bold Leader

Draupadi Murmu is known for the bold decisions which she took during her stint as Governor of Jharkhand. She had good relations with Raghubar Das' and Hemant Soren's Governments. In 2017, she stood against the bills brought by Raghubar Das government which sought to amend CNT-SPT Acts. The deeds show that she is a leader who is capable of taking bold decisions when required. By returning the bills brought by the then government for amendments, she chose to stand with the tribals of the state who were opposing these bills.