The BJP on Tuesday announced to field former Jharkhand Governor and a tribal leader of the party from Odisha, Draupadi Murmu, as NDA candidate for the Presidential poll.BJP National President JP Nadda said discussions were held on 20 names and it was decided to opt for a women candidate from East India belonging to the tribal community.
A former Governor of Jharkhand, Murmu has held several positions in the party organization.Murmu, if elected, will be the first tribal President of the country. Notably, several states have sizable number of tribals, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat.Meanwhile, on Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, “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.” The Opposition had earlier in the day announced former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as its joint candidate for the post. The poll is slated for July 18.
