Draupadi Murmu to visit Ranchi today to seek support for her candidature in presidential poll

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 4, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> Digital
Desk: Droupadi Murmu, a former governor of Jharkhand and presidential candidate
for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), will travel to Ranchi today.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">She will meet with top state officials and lawmakers
to solicit their support for her presidential bid.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">Notably,
the state's ruling party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), has not yet stated who
it will endorse. Both Yashwant Sinha of the UPA and Hemant Soren of the NDA
have requested assistance from the JMM executive board and chief minister.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">On Monday, it's anticipated that JMM would reveal
its position.

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242"> At
a meeting of JMM leaders, including all of the party's MLAs and MPs, held on
June 25 under the direction of its supreme Shibu Soren, it was decided that the
executive president of the party, Hemant Soren, would meet with the Union Home
Minister in Delhi before the party made a decision regarding whether to support
presidential candidates.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">On June 27, Soren met in Delhi with Amit Shah, the
minister of the interior, and Mallikarjun Kharge, the head of the opposition in
the Rajya Sabha.

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">But Soren continued to be silent even after the
meetings.

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">It would be fascinating to see who the JMM would
support in the approaching presidential elections given that the BJP-led ND has
nominated Droupadi Murmu, a member of the Santhal clan, while the UPA, a close
ally, has chosen Yashwant Sinha.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">JMM
has been pursuing a tribal political platform, and the party's main source of
support has been the Santhal community.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">On the second day of the Bharatiya Janata Party's
(BJP) national executive meeting in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
praised the candidacy of the NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and
dubbed it historic.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">According
to sources, the Prime Minister had nothing but praise for Murmu and her life's
path. PM emphasised in particular how despite her struggles throughout her life
and her lowly beginnings, she succeeded in standing up for what she believed
in. PM Modi also discussed Murmu's behaviour in public, highlighting how she
never stopped working for the advancement of all social classes.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">The first presidential candidate from Odisha to
represent a significant political party or coalition is Droupadi Murmu. She is
still breaking down barriers and was Jharkhand's first female governor. She
presided over Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">Droupadi
Murmu finished her studies despite difficult conditions. She was born into a
low-income tribal family in a village in the backward district of Mayurbhanj in
Odisha. She was a teacher at Rairangpur's Shri Aurobindo Integral Education
Center.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242">She studied BA at Ramadevi Women's College in
Bhubaneswar after being born on June 20, 1958. She served as vice-chairman of
Rairangpur NAC when she first entered politics. The Rairangpur-based Droupadi
Murmu served in the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2004. She served
as a minister and was in charge of the fisheries, commerce, and animal
husbandry portfolios. From 2004 through 2009, she was a member of the Odisha
assembly once more.

mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:
minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242">India's
presidential elections will be held on July 18 and the results will be announced
on July 21. On July 24, President Ram Nath Kovind's term will come to an end.

mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#424242"> 

The
elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the
Legislative Assemblies of all states, including Delhi and Puducherry, make up
the Electoral College for the election to the Office of the President.