Who is Draupadi Murmu? Here is everything you need to know about BJP’s Presidential candidate
PERSONAL LIFE
Draupadi was born on 20 June 1958 in Baidaposi village of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Her father’s name is Biranchi Narayan Tudu. She belongs to Santal family, a tribal ethnic group.
Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu. The couple had two sons and a daughter. Draupadi Murmu’s life has been marked by personal tragedies and the loss of husband and two sons.
POLITICA LIFE
NDA led by BJP today zeroed in on Draupadi Murmu as their pick for the upcoming Presidential election on July 18. While making the announcement, BJP chief J P Nadda made the messaging amply clear which is in sync with Narendra Modi led govt’s emphasis on the women and the tribal community.
Hailing from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district and coming from a tribal community, Murmu started out as a teacher and then entered into Odisha politics. In 2015, Murmu was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand.
Once elected, she will become the first tribal president of India and the second female president in the country’s history.
She was Jharkhand’s first female governor. She was also the first Odia woman and tribal leader to be named governor of an Indian state and serve for the full term of her office.
A two-term former MLA from Rairangpur, Murmu held on to her assembly seat in 2009 when the BJD had snapped ties with the BJP weeks ahead of the state elections which were swept by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
Having been born into a tribal family that was battling with poverty in one of the country’s most remote and underdeveloped districts, her childhood had been full of challenges.
Overcoming all odds, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar and served as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in the Odisha government.
She began her political career as the vice-chairman of the Rairangpur NAC. In addition, the Odisha Legislative Assembly honoured her with its Best MLA of the Year 2007 award.
She has diverse administrative experience having handled ministries such as transport, commerce, fisheries and animal husbandry in the Odisha government.
