BJP picks former Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu as NDA candidate for presidential polls

Former Jharkhand governor and tribal leader Droupadi Murmu will be BJP-led NDA candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, confirmed BJP chief J P Nadda on Tuesday night.

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

He added, “BJP parliamentary board discussed 20 names for presidential nominee, it was decided to pick someone from east India, a tribal & woman.”

BJP announced its candidate hours after Yashwant Sinha was named the joint opposition candidate for presidential polls. Sinha is a former Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.

Murmu was married to late Shyam Charan Murmu and has one daughter, Itishree Murmu. She has completed her graduation from Ramadevi Women’s College Bhubaneswar before starting to work as governor of Jharkhand state. Droupadi Murmu has also been Member of Legislative Assembly of Rairangpur, Odisha before becoming the  Minister of State (Independent Charge), Govt.of Odisha, Department of Transport and Commerce.

Shortly after the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, praised Murmu and said, "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.”

"We are happy to announce that we have unanimously chosen Yashwant Sinha as the common candidate of the opposition parties for the presidential election, which will take place on July 18, 2022," said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh while reading out a joint statement post on the announcement.

"In his long and distinguished career in public life, Shri Yashwant Sinha has served the nation in various capacities — as an able administrator, accomplished parliamentarian and acclaimed Union Minister of Finance and External Affairs. He is eminently qualified to uphold the secular and democratic character of the Indian Republic and its Constitutional values," the statement added.

(With input from agencies)