Draupadi Murmu Elected as India’s New President | News
Indian parliamentarians have elected the National Democratic Alliance candidate, Draupadi Murmu, as the country’s new president, the first to belong to a tribal community.
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Indian parliamentarians elect new president
The president will replace Ram Nath Kovind, after adding more than 50 percent of the total vote counted before the politician and former minister of India, Yashwant Sinha, the secretary general of the Upper House, Pramod Chandra Mody, said Thursday.
Some 4,800 parliamentary representatives were summoned to elect the new head of state, number 15, counting the votes cast last Monday by members of the Lok Sabha (Lower House), the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and the regional assemblies.
Elated by all of the support from my all political colleagues Ministers, MP’s and MLA’s from all-around India for choosing me to serve as the 15th President in the world’s largest democratic country Mother India. (1/3)
— Draupadi Murmu • ଦ୍ରୌପଦୀ ମୁର୍ମୁ (@draupadimurmupr)
July 21, 2022
Murmu, 64, had the support of the Indian People’s Party (Bharatiya Janata Party -BJP), which has a majority in Parliament. “I extend my sincere gratitude to all my brothers and sisters across India who have supported me,” she said after learning the results.
For his part, President Ram Nath Kovind said he is sure his successor “will be an outstanding president who will lead from the front and strengthen India’s development process.”
Who is Draupadi Murmu?
Draupadi Murmu is the first woman of tribal origin to become President of India, and the second woman to lead the nation, after Pratibha Devisingh Patil won the elections in 2007.
The new president served as governor of the state of Jharkhand during 2015 and 2021, and belongs to the Shanthal ethnic community, in the eastern state of Odisha.
