Meet Draupadi Murmu, the BJP-led NDA’s presidential candidate
By Sanjay Maurya
Draupadi Murmu is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She is the official candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 2022 presidential election. Earlier she served as the ninth governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021. She is from the state of Odisha. According to BJP Chief JP Nadda, BJP parliamentary board discussed 20 names for presidential nominee, it was decided to pick someone from east India, a tribal and a woman.
Congratulations Smt #DraupadiMurmu on being announced as candidate of NDA for the country’s highest office. I was delighted when Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji discussed this with me. It is indeed a proud moment for people of #Odisha.
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 21, 2022
Draupadi Murmu
- Born: 20 June 1958 (age 64 years), Odisha
- Spouse: Shyam Charan Murmu
- Parents: Biranchi Narayan Tudu
- Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
- Education: Ramadevi Women’s University
- Previous offices: Governor of Jharkhand (2015–2021), Member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly (2000–2009)
- Children: Itishri Murmu
Draupadi Murmu is up against former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition candidate for the July polls. If elected, the 64-year-old would be India’s first tribal woman president and also the first president to be born after independence.
Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2022
The last date for filing nominations for the presidential election is June 29 and voting will be held on July 18. The counting of votes will take place on July 21.
Some unknown facts about Draupadi Murmu
- Murmu, 64, was born into a Santhal tribe family in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
- Draupadi Murmu’s family battled with poverty as they lived in one of the state’s most underdeveloped areas. She graduated from Bhubaneswar’s Ramadevi Women’s College despite her family’s challenging circumstances.
- Draupadi Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu and the couple had two sons and a daughter. However, tragedy struck Murmu’s life when she lost her husband and two sons.
- Murmu will become the first Indian president who was born in Odisha if she wins. She is also the first woman and tribal leader of Odisha to be appointed governor of a state and complete her term.
- Murmu, a BJP member, served as an MLA in Rairangpur, Odisha. Murmu also served as a minister in the Odisha cabinet.
- She was awarded the “Neelkanth Award” for the best MLA of the year 2007 by the Odisha Legislative Assembly. She also served as the District President of BJP for Mayurbhanj (West).
Presidents of India List
| Name | Starting date | Closing date |
| 1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad | January 26th, 1950 | May 13th, 1962 |
| 2. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | May 13th, 1962 | May 13th, 1967 |
| 3. Dr. Zakir Hussain | May 13th, 1967 | May 3rd, 1969 |
| 4. Varahagiri Venkata Giri | May 3rd, 1969 | July 20th, 1969 |
| 5. Mohammad Hidayatullah | July 20th, 1969 | August 24th, 1969 |
| 6. Varahagiri Venkata Giri | August 24th, 1969 | August 24th, 1974 |
| 7. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | August 24th, 1974 | February 11th, 1977 |
| 8. Basappa Danappa Jatti | February 11th, 1977 | July 25th, 1977 |
| 9. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | July 25th, 1977 | July 25th, 1982 |
| 10. Giani Zail Singh | July 25th, 1982 | July 25th, 1987 |
| 11. Ramaswamy Venkataraman | July 25th, 1987 | July 25th, 1992 |
| 12. Shankar Dayal Sharma | July 25th, 1992 | July 25th, 1997 |
| 13. Kocheril Raman Narayanan | July 25th, 1997 | July 25th, 2002 |
| 14. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | July 25th, 2002 | July 25th, 2007 |
| 15. Pratibha Patil | July 25th, 2007 | July 25th, 2012 |
| 16. Pranab Mukherjee | July 25th, 2012 | July 25th, 2017 |
| 17. Shri Ram Nath Kovind | July 25th, 2017 | Working |
