The upcoming presidential election in India is set to be an interesting contest, with the nation likely to get its first tribal president.
With an eye on the tribal votes, the BJP-led NDA has picked former Jharkhand governor and tribal leader Droupadi Murmu, 64, as its candidate. Last time, it had opted for Dalit leader Ram Nath Kovind as the presidential candidate, who went on to occupy the post.
Murmu’s name was declared by BJP chief J.P. Nadda after the party’s parliamentary board meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The party had considered 20 names before unanimously deciding on Murmu’s name, Nadda said. THE WEEK had earlier reported that she was one of the contenders for the post.
The contest will be between Murmu and Yashwant Sinha, who was named the consensus presidential candidate of 13 opposition parties earlier today. While Sinha was a former Union minister in the NDA government, Murmu was a minister in the BJP-BJD coalition government in Odisha. She was an MLA from Rairangpur assembly constituency in 2000 and 2004, and belongs to the Santhal community. Sinha, who is from Bihar, represented Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand.
Murmu has an edge in terms of numbers. She is also expected to get the support of some non-NDA and non-UPA parties. As she belongs to Odisha, there will be pressure on BJD to support her. NDA is currently short of around one per cent vote, which will be addressed if the BJD votes for her.
The voting for the presidential poll is scheduled to be held on July 18 and counting on July 21. June 29 is the last date for filing the nomination.
The nation, in all likelihood, will get a new vice-president, too. The vice-presidential election will be in August.
