It’s a big day for India. Droupadi Murmu just got elected as the 15th President of the country and she’d be the first-ever tribal person to hold this post. NDA’s choice for the post, Murmu won the election by getting over 50 per cent of the votes in her favour. She defeated Yashwant Sinha. Murmu will now be taking over Ramnath Kovind’s responsibilities as the new President of India and will be taking the oath on July 25.
As Murmu prepares to turn a new leaf in the history of Indian politics, here’s everything you need to know about her impressive political career:
Who Is Droupadi Murmu?
Born on June 20, 1958, Droupadi hails from Baidaposi village of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. She belongs to Santal family, a tribal ethnic group from the state. A trailblazer in the truest sense of the word, she was the first girl in her village to go to college.
Before beginning her political career, Murmu worked as a teacher at the Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj. Later, she got a job as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department of the Odisha government. This is where her interest in politics and governance started.
In 1997, Murmu ran for an election for the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat 1997, won it, and became a councillor. Post that, she was elected for two consecutive terms (2000 and 2004) in the Odisha Assembly and served as a Minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s coalition government. At the same time, she also worked as vice-president of the BJP’s Scheduled Tribes Morcha.
Murmu had her big political break in 2015 after becoming the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. It was during her tenure as the Governor that she did the most significant work of her career. In 2016, she opposed a controversial bill that threatened the right of land for the Adivasi community and earned widespread name and respect.
Here’s extending our heartiest congratulations to Murmu for creating history by becoming the first-ever tribal President of India! We know she’d do justice to the post.
Featured Image: Twitter
