Last Updated on July 22, 2022 at 8:25 am
Droupadi Murmu, nominated by the NDA, is poised to become the India’s 15th President. At the Parliament House, ballots for the 2022 presidential election were counted. At 11 a.m. on July 21, 2022, voting for the presidential election between Droupadi Murmu, the candidate for the BJP-led NDA, and Yashwant Sinha, the joint candidate for the opposition, began.
The Returning Officer P C Mody announced Droupadi Murmu as the 15th President of India. She received 2824 first choice votes, worth 6,76,803, compared to her opponent Yashwant Sinha’s 1,877 first preference votes, worth 3,80,177.
She is the youngest person ever to hold the office of President and will be the first born after independence. She is also the second woman to hold the office of President.
After the third round of counting, Sinha conceded defeat and congratulated Murmu, saying every Indian hoped that she would serve as the “custodian of the Constitution” without fear or favour. Sinha also expressed his gratitude to the heads of the opposition parties for picking him to be their candidate of choice in this election.
Sinha also thanked every Electoral College voter who supported him. He said that he accepts the opposition parties’ offer only in accordance with the Karma Yoga teachings of Lord Krishna as stated in the Bhagavad Gita: “Do your duty without expecting the results thereof”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda paid a visit to Murmu at her home to offer their congratulations as soon as it was revealed that the NDA presidential nominee had passed the required halfway point.
Droupadi Murmu was chosen as the presidential contender for the ruling NDA in the elections on July 18. She was born on June 20, 1958, in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
She climbed the BJP ladder for the first time from Rairangpur. In 1997, she was elected to the local Notified Area Council. From 2000 to 2004, she worked her way up to become a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government of Odisha. She was named governor of Jharkhand in 2015 and held the position till 2021.
Throughout her tenure, she worked hard to enhance infrastructure in Odisha, like roads and ports, and is also a skilled speaker in both Santhali and Odia.
The low-key Murmu, who is known to be extremely spiritual, is a committed adherent of the Brahma Kumaris’ meditation practises. She adopted the movement after losing her husband, two sons, mother, and brother in only six years, from 2009 to 2015.
