Murmu Becomes India’s 1st Tribal Prez; PM Modi Says ‘India Scripts History’

| Updated: 21 July, 2022 6:42 pm IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated President-Elect Draupadi Murmu at her Delhi residence on Thursday

NEW DELHI: In what turned out to be a historic election, Draupadi Murmu was declared the winner of the presidential poll securing 64 per cent votes. She is the first tribal to occupy the highest Constitutional post in the country.

Congratulating President-elect Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!”

He also said that the life story of the president-elect will motivate every Indian and is a ray of hope “for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden”.

PM Modi, accompanied by BJP president JP Nadda visited the residence of the president-elect to congratulate her in person.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also visited Murmu’s residence in Delhi to personally congratulate her. “I congratulate Murmu for her spectacular victory. She always fought for the welfare of the people. She has travelled her journey from a small village to the highest office in the country. This is the strength of Indian democracy,” Rajnath Singh said.

Conceding defeat, Opposition Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha congratulated the president-elect. Posting a congratulatory message on social media, Sinha said, “I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour.”

Former governor of Jharkhand, President-elect Murmu was born in a small village in Odisha.

Many non-NDA parties like Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, Hemant Soren-led JMM, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP and Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP had declared support for her.

The final result tally indicated that there has been heavy cross-voting in her favour. At least 17 MPs and 126 MLAs cross-voted for the president-elect.

The tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind is coming to an end on June 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a farewell dinner for President Kovind on Friday in Delhi’s Ashoka Hotel.

The BJP also took out an Abhinandan Yatra led by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta to celebrate the victory of President-elect Murmu. The roadshow started at Delhi BJP’s office at Pt. Pant Road and concluded at Rajpath. It was attended by Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi and former Union Minister Harsh Vardhan.

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