New Delhi, India (CU)_ Ahead of presidential elections in India, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominated Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha and former governor of Jharkhand, as its presidential candidate. Accordingly, the opposition also announced Yashwant Sinha, the former BJP member and former Union finance minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, as their joint nominee.
Following lengthy and detailed consultations with NDA allies, BJP president J.P. Nadda stated at a news conference that the presidential nominee should be a candidate from the east and should be a tribal woman. The NDA is solidly positioned in the presidential election, falling short of a majority by only 1.2% of the electoral college votes. Odisha’s ruling party, the BJD, has 3 percent of the votes.
While Murmu’s presidential candidacy is likely to bolster the BJP’s chances among tribal people across the nation, particularly in Gujarat, it will also aid the party’s ambitions to increase its voter base in the eastern state in the near future. Murmu is a native of the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. She began her career as a teacher before transitioning into state politics. She was elected twice as an MLA from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj on a BJP ticket in 2000 and 2009. In 2015, she became the first female governor of Jharkhand.
While announcing the nominee, Nadda stated that the BJP has sought consensus among all parties. He added, “After the opposition parties announced their candidate, the BJP spoke to all the NDA partners and it was decided to field a woman candidate. A detailed discussion was held on 20 names and a consensus was built that someone from eastern India and from the tribal community must be made the President of India”.
Nadda announced, “After discussion, the parliamentary board decided to name Droupadi Murmu as the presidential nominee”. Nadda also noted that India had never seen a tribal president, making the action even more noteworthy. The parliamentary board of the BJP, which is the highest organizational body of the party that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a key member, made the decision.
