Yesterday, Droupadi Murmu, a candidate for the NDA, was elected as India’s first tribal president after garnering more than 60% of the vote. After three counts, Yashwant Sinha of the opposition acknowledged defeat. On July 25, the President-elect will be sworn in.
Murmu, a member of an Odisha tribal group, would hold the top constitutional position in the nation for the first time as an Adivasi woman. She is also the second female president of the nation. She served as the state’s first female governor as well as the first female tribal chief to hold the position in any Indian state. Murmu entered politics for the first time in 1997 after being chosen as a Rairangpur district board councillor. She would later go on to represent the same constituency as an MLA.
According to records, Droupadi Murmu received votes from approximately 125 opposition MLAs from various assemblies. The results of the vote-counting indicate that Murmu benefited from cross-voting by 17 MPs. A sizable portion of opposition MLAs in the assembly of Assam, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh voted for the nominee of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
