Bhubaneswar: Draupadi Murmu has become the first woman from Odisha to have nominated as Presidential Candidate.
Murmu, who had served twice as an MLA and once as a minister in Odisha, has been fielded as the BJP-led NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections.
Born on June 20, 1958 in Odisha in a simple Santhal tribal family, Murmu started her political career in 1997. She was elected councillor of the district board in Rairangpur in 1997.
Prior to joining politics, Murmu worked as an honorary assistant teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research, Rairangpur and as a junior assistant in the Irrigation Department, before joining politics. Murmu was also awarded the Neelkanth Award for Best Legislator by the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
Murmu was also the ninth Governor of Jharkhand.
Murmu’s candidature was decided at the BJP’s parliamentary board meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
The meeting was attended by senior BJP leaders including JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and others, according to reports.
If elected, Draupadi Murmu would be the second woman President in the country after Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
Patil served as the 12th president of India from 25 July 2007 to July 2012. She was the first and, to date, only female president of India.
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