A 64-year-old woman politician, Droupadi Murmu has won India’s presidential election on Thursday. Murmu is the first tribal leader to be elected as the President of India.
Murmu is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She served as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand between 2015 and 2021. She was picked as the presidential candidate for the National Democratic Alliance in the 2022 election.
Reports indicate that Murmu won by an overwhelming margin against her contender, Yashwant Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the electoral college.
She will succeed Ram Nath Kovid to become India’s 15th president. Report said that Murmu had sealed her victory in the presidential election over opposition Sinha by crossing the half-way mark and polling well over 53% votes by the end of third round itself.
In the end, the total value of first preference polls she garnered were 6,76,803, or 64% of the total votes while Sinha got 3,80,177 votes.
She will be the first President to be born after independence and is the youngest to occupy the top post. She is also the second woman to become the President.
Speaking about the historic moment, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said Murmu’s victory reflects her early struggles, rich service and exemplary success which motivate Indian people.
“India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President! Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji’s life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden,” he added.
Sinha conceded defeat after third round of counting and congratulated Murmu on her victory.
“I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Smt Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour,” Sinha said on Twitter.