Droupadi Murmu was NDA’s (National Democratic Alliance) presidential candidate who was pitched against the opposition’s Yashwant Sinha.
Before being elected as the President of the Republic of India, she served as the Governor of Jharkhand.
Madam President elect Droupadi Murmu was born to a tribal family of the Santali tribe in Uparbeda. Which is a village in Odhisa in the Mayurbhanj district. Moreover, her father and grandfather both have held the posts of Sarpanch.
Before her political career, Droupadi Murmu worked as a school teacher and then worked as an assistant professor at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Institute, Rairangpur and a junior assistant at the irrigation department Government of Odisha.
She joined the BJP in 1997 and was elected as the Councillor of the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat and later became the Chairperson of Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 2000.
Droupadi Murmu later entered state politics during the BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and BJP coalition government of Odhisa as she was appointed as the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transportation from 2000 to 2002. She later held the portfolio of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from 2002 to 2004.
In May of 2018, she was sworn in as the Governor of Jharkhand and that made her the first tribal woman from Odhisa to be appointed as the Governor of an Indian state.
In her tenure as the governor, she had refused to give assent to a bill approved by the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. Seeking amendments to the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908, and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949. The bill sought to give rights to tribals to make commercial use of their land. While ensuring that the ownership of land does not change. Honorable President Droupadi Murmu demanded an explanation from the Raghubar Das-led BJP government about the changes it would bring. For the well-being of tribal communities.
Outside her illustrious political career, her personal life has been riddled with misfortunes as she lost her husband, two sons, mother and brother between 2009 and 2014.
In 2009, one of her sons, Laxman Murmu, passed away in mysterious circumstances. Reports dating back to 2009 suggest that he was found in an unconscious state.
Murmuji’s second son in 2012 lost his life in a road accident. Followed by her husband who passed away due to a cardiac arrest.
She has one daughter, Itishree Murmu who works at a bank and is married to a rugby player, Ganesh Hembram.
Madam Presiden Droupadi Murmu is a fine example of Indian democratic values. She is the first tribal to hold the highest office in the country. Despite hailing from the most underdeveloped and impoverished areas and her tribe being a subject of exploitation by the British Raj and Zamindars
