New Delhi: National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday scripted history to become the first tribal leader to be elected as the President of India.
Murmu had sealed her victory in the presidential election over opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha by crossing the half-way mark and polling well over 53% votes by the end of third round itself.
She will be the first President to be born after independence and is the youngest to occupy the top post. She is also the second woman to become the President.
Murmu won by an overwhelming margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, comprising the electoral college, to succeed Ram Nath Kovid to become the country’s 15th president.
After the end of the counting process that continued for more than 10 hours, returning officer P C Mody declared Murmu as the winner and said that she got 6,76,803 votes against Sinha’s 3,80,177 votes.
She will be the first President to be born after independence and is the youngest to occupy the top post. She is also the second woman to become the President.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister visited the residence of Droupadi Murmu to congratulate her as she took an unbeatable lead over opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha.
“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! Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat,” PM Modi said on Twitter.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji’s life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden,” he added. (Agencies)
