Droupadi Murmu is elected as the 15th president of India. She is the first tribal woman and only the second woman to become Indian president. The president-elect will now replace President Ram Nath Kovind, whose term ends on Sunday.
The candidate of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the 64-year-old comes from Odisha state. She started her career as a school teacher and actively participated in tribal rights issues. She later joined mainstream politics as a BJP legislator and governor of Jharkhand state in the east.
Droupadi Murmu registered a comfortable win against the opposition’s candidate – veteran politician Yashwant Sinha.
The president-elect was chosen as the presidential candidate after a detailed discussion of 20 names that the BJP and its allies had considered.
The president in India is the head of the state but does not exercise executive powers. He or she is elected by the members of both the houses of parliament and the legislative assemblies of states and federally-administered union territories.
Next month, Indian lawmakers will also vote to elect the country’s vice-president.
The BJP has announced Jagdeep Dhankar, a senior leader who is currently governor of West Bengal state – as its candidate.
Sangay Chezom
