First tribal and the second woman to hold the highest office - Draupadi Murmu

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Draupadi Murmu has been Elected as the 15th President of India. She contested against Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition’s nominee for the top constitutional job. Draupadi Murmu is a tribal leader from Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Draupadi Murmu is a soft-spoken leader who made her way into the politics of Odisha with her sheer hard work. Draupadi Murmu after winning the Presidential elections 2022, has become the first tribal and the second woman to hold the highest office.

Droupadi Murmu born 20 June 1958 is an Indian politician who is the President-elect of India. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She is the first-ever person from the Tribal community to be elected as the President of India. She is the first person from Odisha and only the second woman after Pratibha Patil to occupy this post. She is the youngest and first individual born after India's independence in 1947, elected to this post. Prior to her presidency she served as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand between 2015 and 2021 and held various portfolios in the cabinet of the Government of Odisha between 2000 to 2004. Before entering politics, she worked as a junior assistant in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983, and then as a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre at Rairangpur till 1997.

Droupadi Murmu was born in a Santali tribal family on June 20, 1958, in the Baidaposi area of Rairangpur from Mayurbhanj district in Odisha, to Biranchi Narayan Tudu. Both her father and grandfather were elected as sarpanch under the Panchayati Raj system.

Murmu is an arts graduate of Rama Devi Women's College.

She married Shyam Charan Murmu, a banker, who died in 2014. The couple had two sons, both of whom are dead, and a daughter. She lost her husband, two sons, mother, and a brother in a span of 7 years, from 2009 to 2015. Murmu spiritually associates herself with the Brahma Kumaris. Murmu's daughter Itishree works at UCO bank in Odisha. She got married to Ganesh Hembram, who is a Rugby player, in 2015. They have a little daughter.

Murmu started out as a school teacher before entering state politics. She worked as an assistant professor at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Institute, Rairangpur, and a junior assistant at the irrigation department Government of Odisha.

Droupadi Murmu is a tribal leader from Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Murmu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1997 and was elected as the councilor of the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat. Murmu became the Chairperson of Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 2000. She also served as National Vice-President of BJP Scheduled Tribes Morcha.

During the BJP and Biju Janata Dal coalition government in Odisha, she was the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transportation from March 6, 2000, to August 6, 2002, and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from August 6, 2002, to May 16, 2004

Murmu took oath as the Governor of Jharkhand on 18 May 2015, becoming the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. The BJP was in power in the Jharkhand Government for most of the six-year tenure as a Governor. BJP was in power in the Union Government throughout her tenure.

Ratan Tirkey, a former BJP politician, said that Murmu had not done enough to make sure that the self-governance rights granted to tribal communities were properly implemented. These rights were granted under the Fifth Schedule and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA. Tirkey said, "Despite several requests, the then governor never exercised her powers to implement the Fifth Schedule provisions and Pesa in letter and spirit".

In June 2022, the BJP nominated Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance's candidate for President of India for the 2022 election the following month. As of now, she has been elected as the President of India and has assumed office on 25th July 2022. She will be the first tribal politician and the second woman to be elected president. Yashwant Sinha was nominated as the candidate for President by the opposition parties.

During her election campaign, Murmu visited various states seeking support for her candidature. Several opposition parties like JMM, BSP, Shiv Sena among others, had announced support for her candidature prior to polling.

On 21st July 2022, Murmu secured a comfortable majority in the 2022 Presidential election defeating common opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha with 676,803 electoral votes (64.03% of the total) in 21 of the 28 states (including the union territory of Puducherry) to become the 15th President of India.

She has taken the oath of office in the Central Hall of Parliament by the Chief Justice of India, Mr. NV Ramana