Presidential Polls 2022: Life & career of Droupadi Murmu and why BJP picked her for the top post

Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, was named the Bharatiya Janata Party led-National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the 16th presidential polls scheduled to be held on July 18 consequent to the expiry of the term of current President Ram Nath Kovind.

With the NDA commanding 49% votes in the electoral college for the election, 64-year-old Murmu is set for a comfortable victory.

The woman of many firsts

If elected, Murmu, the former governor of Jharkhand, will be the first tribal woman to be the President of India, and the second woman to occupy the top constitutional post after Pratibha Patil. She was Jharkhand's first female governor and the first Odia woman and tribal leader to be named governor of an Indian state and serve a full term.

Early life

Born on June 20, 1958 in Baidaposi village of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, Murmu belongs to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and hails from the Santhal community, one of the most dominant ethnic groups.

Foray into politics

With a Bachelor of Arts degree, Murmu started as a teacher before entering politics in 1997 as the councillor of Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat. The same year, she was declared Vice President of BJP’s Scheduled Tribes (ST) Morcha. After being elected as a legislator on a BJP ticket from the Rairangpur constituency in 2000 and 2009, she served as a minister in Commerce and Transport and subsequently Fisheries and Animal Resources department between 2000 and 2004 during the BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha.

In 2015, Murmu was sworn in as the Governor of Jharkhand.

In 2017, Murmu was seen as a contender for the president’s post, when then-President Pranab Mukherjee was set to leave Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Political significance of her possible election

Her win, which looks highly likely, will boost BJP’s tribal push in the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The four states have 128 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes, of which the BJP had won just 35 in the last assembly elections.

Political significance aside, what her election as President would mean for people hailing from tribal communities and how or if she will project their concerns, only time will tell. Precedents warrant caution from prejudging.