Former Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, who was nominated by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as the presidential candidate on June 21 filed her nomination papers today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Murmu (64), who served as the Jharkhand governor between 2015 and 2021, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post if she is elected. 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.

Delhi | NDA's Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu files her nomination in the presence of PM Modi, Union cabinet ministers & CMs of BJP & NDA ruled states, at Parliament building

(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/Ko1kxl3meJ— ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2022

The decision came hours after BJP parliamentary board's meeting on the presidential election, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, BJP President JP Nadda, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

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Hailing from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, Murmu belongs to the Santal family, a tribal ethnic group. Murmu took her baby steps while struggling with poverty in one of the most remote and underdeveloped districts of the country.

Overcoming all odds, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Arts from Ramadevi Women's College in Bhubaneswar. She started her career as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in Odisha. She also worked as an assistant teacher in Shri Aravindo Integral Education and Research.

She became MLA twice on a BJP ticket from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj (2000 and 2009) and served as a minister in the commerce and transport department and in the fisheries and animal resources department in the Odisha government.

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Murmu was awarded the Nilkanth Award for the Best MLA of the year in 2007 by the Odisha Legislative assembly. In the BJP, Murmu was the vice president and later president of the Scheduled Tribe Morcha in Odisha. She was elected as the district president of Mayurbhanj (West) unit of the BJP in 2010 and re-elected in 2013. She was also named a member of the BJP National Executive (ST Morcha) the same year.

She held the post of district president till April 2015 when she was appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand. Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu and they had two sons and a daughter. Her life has been marked with personal tragedies as she lost her husband and two sons. Murmu's daughter Itishree is married to Ganesh Hembram.

The presidential elections will take place as the term of President Ram Nath Kovind will end on July 24 this year. After the election, the new President will take oath on July 25.

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The elections for the presidential polls will be held on July 18 and the counting, if need be, will take place on July 21. The last date for filing nominations is June 29, the Election Commission of India had announced earlier this month. So far, 15 candidates filed their papers for nominations for the 16th Presidential election.

Note: This story has been updated with latest developments.

First Published:Jun 21, 2022 9:43 PM IST