Draupadi Murmu Could Be India’s Next President. Here Is All You Need To Know About Her

With names like LK Advani, Mohan Bhagwat, Sushma Swaraj, and Sumitra Mahajan doing rounds to be the next president of ?India, one name that certainly stands out of the coterie of possible political figures who might end up residing in a Presidential estate is Draupadi Murmu.

Murmu was unheard of before her name surfaced from nowhere in the race for president and soon it eclipsed even the bigger names like Advani, Joshi and even Sushma Swaraj.

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But who’s Murmu? We haven’t heard or seen her frequently in the circus known as Indian national politics.?

Let’s know more about this dark horse who would possibly even eclipse the biggest political names and may acquire the citadel of Raisina for the next five years.

Mumru hails from the Santhal tribe

Murmu hails from the Santhal tribe - yes, the one which legendary freedom fighter Birsa Munda belonged to. She is from Parbeda village and Kusumi block of the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.

A teacher by profession before she entered politics

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Draupadi Mumru was a teacher before she entered politics in 1997 and since then there has been no looking back for her. Unlike many other women politicians, she didn’t take much time climbing the echelons in BJP and within one year of joining the BJP, she became the Vice President of the Odisha Scheduled Tribes Morcha of the BJP.

Held many portfolios?in Patnaik government?

During the BJD’s Patnaik government from 2000 to 2004, she held many portfolios which included the ministry of transport and commerce; and ?Fisheries & Animal Husbandry departments.?

Her political stature kept growing

Ever since her political entry, she kept growing as politicians and within a decade, she made waves in Odisha’s local politics. In 2007, she was awarded Nilakantha Award for being the best MLA of that year by Legislative Assembly of Odisha.?

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Just a couple of years into politics and she was already making waves. In 2007, she was awarded Nilakantha Award for the best MLA of the year by the Legislative Assembly of Odisha.

In personal life as well, she was strong. She kept herself motivated even after losing her husband and two sons.

Elected as first women governor of Jharkhand

In 2015, Murmu was elected as the first women governor of Jharkhand at the age of 59. Murmu has worked for tribal rights and now she is possibly the biggest BJP face for tribal in India.

Murmu may be BJP’s calculative move

BJP has been predominantly a political party for urban India. Though it has made significant inroads on rural India as well, tribal belts have never been BJP’s vote banks.?

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Therefore choosing Murmu may prove a masterstroke for BJP as it will not only shed BJP’s anti-tribal image but also help in making inroads in tribal belts.

Whether she becomes President or not, ?Murmu is certainly an inspiration

Regardless whether she ends up at Raisena or not, Murmu and her rise to the candidature for being India's next Presiden,t rivalling the old stalwarts of Indian politics, is certainly a story to get inspired from.