If Murmu gets elected, she will be the first tribal woman, as well as the first person from Odisha, to occupy the top constitutional post. The presidential elections will be conducted on 18 July to elect a successor to incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind and counting of votes will be done on 21 July
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu was seen offering prayers today, 22 June, at a Shiva temple in Rairangpur, situated in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. She paid a visit to the temple in her home state a day after her name was picked by the National Democratic Alliance for the presidential polls.
What caught everyone’s attention was Murmu sweeping the floor of the temple before offering her prayers. The video, shared by news agency ANI, shows the former Jharkhand governor picking up a broom and sweeping the entrance of the temple, after which she entered the premises.
Read: BJP-led NDA’s presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu gets Z+ security cover
Watch the video here:
Yesterday, BJP president JP Nadda made the announcement that Murmu will be the NDA’s candidate for the presidential polls. The decision to pick Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, was taken after a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the party. Soon after the announcement, the Union Home Ministry ordered the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to send a VIP security protection team to take charge of Murmu’s security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the 64-year-old and wrote that Murmu’s “understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature” will benefit the country.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation,” PM Modi stated.
If Murmu gets elected, she will be the first tribal woman, as well as the first person from Odisha, to occupy the top constitutional post. The presidential elections will be conducted on 18 July to elect a successor to incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind. The counting of votes will be done on 21 July 2022.
Murmu will be standing against former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha. He has been declared as a joint nominee by major opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party. Sinha was selected after Sharad Pawar, Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah declined the opposition’s offer to contest the presidential polls.