Droupadi Murmu: Some Lesser-known Facts About India¡¯s Presidential Candidate

Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, was named as presidential nominee on Tuesday by the ruling party NDA for the forthcoming Presidential election. The decision was taken at the BJP¡¯s parliamentary board meeting. Droupadi Murmu will face former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been nominated as the opposition candidate.

Little-Known Facts About Draopadi Murmu | BCCL

If Droupadi Murmu is elected as President of India, she will become India's first tribal and second female president of India.

64-year-old Murmu is a former Odisha minister and two-time BJP MLA from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj. She was appointed as the governor of Jharkhand and held the position till 2021 making her the first woman Governor of Jharkhand.

Here are some less-known facts about Droupadi Murmu

1. She was born in the Santhal tribal community in Odisha¡¯s Mayurbhanj district.

2. When she was young, her father and grandfather were the village headmen.

3. Before joining politics in 1997, she was an assistant professor at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Centre, Rajgangpur. She also worked as a junior assistant at the irrigation department of Odisha from 1979 to 1983.

4, Draopadi Murmu quit her government job in 1983 to look after her children.

Little-Known Facts About Draopadi Murmu | BCCL

5. Droupadi Murmu began her political career as a councillor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997, and later in the same year, she became the vice-chairperson of the Rairangpur NAC.

6. In 2015, Murmu was made the Governor of Jharkhand. She was the first tribal governor of the state.

7. She was the ninth governor of Jharkhand and served the position from 2015 to 2021.

8. In 2016, Murmu announced that she would donate her eyes after death to the Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital in Ranchi.

9. In 2009, she lost her son in an accident after which she suffered from depression. In 2013, she lost her second son, and in 2014, her husband died. In an interview, she talked about her struggles in life and said, "I have witnessed many ups and downs in life. I have lost my two sons and my husband. I was completely devastated. But God has given me the strength to continue to serve the people.¡±

Little-Known Facts About Draopadi Murmu | BCCL

10. Murmu was awarded the Nilkanth Award for the Best MLA of the year in 2007 by the Odisha Legislative assembly.

11. Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu and the couple had two sons and a daughter. However, her life has been marked with personal tragedies as she lost her husband and two sons. Murmu's daughter Itishree is married to Ganesh Hembram.

Murmu¡¯s simplicity seems to come from her humble beginnings. In a February 2020 interview, the politician opened up about her political journey.

¡°I come from the poorest of the poor families and never expected I will take up politics. I had plans to study and get a regular job to support my family financially. However, there have been several incidents in my life that led to me quitting my job,¡± Murmu told the host of the show Ek Mulakat.