Droupadi Murmu makes history; first tribal to be elected India's President

 

The scent of mahua flowers and bamboo groves travelled from the jungles to the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan as Droupadi Murmu (64) made history by becoming India’s first tribal president.

Fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Murmu got more than 64 per cent of the votes cast, and at least 20 opposition votes, winning the election by a massive margin, defeating common opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha (84) and winning voters in the electoral college with her charm, simplicity and determined conviction to protect tribal identity. Tribal chiefs from all over the country are planning to troop into Delhi to felicitate the new president when she takes oath on July 25, putting on display a new, different, iridescent India.

Murmu went against a government led by her own party and returned the Bills to the Jharkhand government, which ultimately withdrew them. It took her six months. That the Bills were proposed in the first place betrayed the BJP’s understanding of tribal identity. It took a member of the BJP to contest this -- and that member was Droupadi Murmu.

The Jharkhand government changed during her tenure. She was even-handed, advising new Chief Minister Hemant Soren to desist from diluting the composition of the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC). Her successor, Ramesh Bais, followed in her stead and ultimately the Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government had to withdraw those changes.

Murmu’s name came up for discussion as president even in 2017 but on that occasion, the government chose Ramnath Kovind, the outgoing president. This time, she was selected by the parliamentary board of the BJP from a shortlist of 20 candidates.