As many as 17 MPs in Parliament and 126 MLAs in various state assemblies defied party lines and voted overwhelmingly in favour of BJP and NDA nominee Draupadi Murmu.
Droupadi Murmu secured only a solitary vote in Kerala, a state where the BJP-led NDA does not have a single MLA.
New Delhi
A tribal woman will be India's new President and the first citizen.
The 64-year-old Droupadi Murmu was on Thursday, July 21, elected President of theworld's largest democracy trouncing her rival and a senior politician Yashwant Sinha by a convincing margin.
At the end of the daylong counting of votes from the MLAs and MPs, it was declared that Murmu secured 6,76,803 votes against Sinha’s 3,80,177 votes to become India's 15th President.
Significantly, she will succeed incumbent Rashtrapati, Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit and she will be stewarding India's fate when India will complete 75 years of its independence on August 15.
Ms Murmu was born in a little known place in the development-starved region of Mayurbhanj in Odisha and had a truly self-made career. So her elevation to the elevated office in more ways than one demonstrates truly the triumph of democracy. She will not only be India's first tribal President but also first to be born in independent India.
Her election has been marred by hectic politicking and in the ultimate 17 opposition MPs cross-voted for Ms Murmu.
Several opposition parties which otherwise are firmly against BJP kept the political differences aside and decided to back her candidature. This club includes leaders like Mayawati of BSP and even an aggrieved Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on her in the evening hours and presented a bouquet while celebration spirit ran across the country including in her home town Rairangpur.
The Head teacher of the Government Upper Primary School where Murmu studied, recalled her school life and said that she was a brilliant student and was keen to "serve the people".
"I would like to thank all those MPs and MLAs across party lines who have supported the candidature of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her record victory augurs well for our democracy," the Prime Minister tweeted.
Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha also congratulated her and hoped that she would discharge her duties as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour.
Well to be President of India, one need not be a scientist or any intellectual giant. In her case the trump card was the faceless Indian tribal woman; - and of course the tag 'people's President'.
In her election and with such a massive mandate, shows India has made a crucial statementas the world's largest democracy and showing immense faith in women empowerment andon the leadership ability of a tribal who came up the ladder as a self-made person.
Nagaland BJP leader Kevechutso Doulo, a tribal and a Christian, told this journalist,"Time and again, the people’s spirit and yearnings for liberty, inclusion, and pluralism have triumphedin this country. The incoming President is a tribal and a woman, making us all feel more proud of the momentous occasion".
Some of her achievements were milestones in themselves.
Born into a Santhal tribal family in 1958, she was the first girl in Uparbeda village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district to go to a college.
Ms Murmu won an election to the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997, and served as councillor. She was elected to two terms in the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2004, and served as a Minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD-BJP coalition government.
Not a rubber stamp!
Her admirers say Ms Murmu will not be a rubber stamp President as is being alleged in certain quarters.
As the first woman Governor of Jharkhand, she showed her eyes for critical observation.
In November 2016, the BJP government in Jharkhand passed amendments to two centuries-old land laws — the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act — that would have ensured easy transfer of land for industrial use.
But she declined to sign initially and returned the Bills in June 2017 and her decision to seek state government's clarification how the amendments would benefit tribals had earned her respect and admiration as all alongshe had been a saffron party foot soldier herself.
ends
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--Nirendra DevNew Delhi#Presidential Elections 17 opposition MPs cross-voted for Draupadi Murmu
PM @NarendraModi presents a bouquet to #DraupadiMurmu on her election as the 15th #President of India.
BJP chief JP Nadda also present
"I would like to thank all those MPs and MLAs across party lines who have supported the candidature of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her record victory augurs well for our democracy." - Modi
Well to be President of India ..one need not be a scientist or any intellectual giant. In this case the trump card is a faceless Indian tribal woman...and of course the tag 'people's President' .... in 2017 we had Dalit President/Rashtrapati and now the first tribal woman.
bad politics ..... from people and party Trinamool Congress.... ....it does not believe in healthy democracy and fair competition...TOLERANCE....?
Mamata Banerjee party to abstain from voting in upcoming #VicePresidentialElections2022 : Abhishek Banerjee
Draupadi Murmu has secured 540 votes with a value of 3,78,000 & #Yashwant Sinha has secured 208 votes with a value of 1,45,600. A total of 15 votes were invalid.
These figures from Parliament voting.
"It will be big day for Rairangpur and for the entire Odisha," a local resident said.
Video Link
The people of her native place have also planned a victory procession and tribal dance on Thursday.
The Head teacher of the Government Upper Primary School where Murmu studied, recalled her school life and said that she was a brilliant student and wanted to "serve the people".
"From 1968 to 1970, I was the Head Teacher, when she was studying in the school. I feel very proud to know about Droupadi Murmu. She was a brilliant student. I remember once, the students were asked to share what they want to become in the future, students mentioned different professions, but when Murmu was asked, she stated that she wants to serve the people. Today I can connect to that," Bisweswar Mohanty said.
Last month, Nagaland BJP leader Kevechutso Doulo wrote in a newspaper article -
"While Indian democracy allows democratic views from all, a soul searching exercise of the Congress may do good for the country. In democracy, people are supreme. Time and again, the people’s spirit and yearnings for liberty, inclusion, and pluralism have triumphed. Elections of two Presidents in 2017 and 2022 also reflect this cherished spirit.
As we yet again stand up to bid goodbye to the incumbent President and set the ball rolling to welcome a new President, let us hail the great Indian democracy. The incoming President is a tribal and a woman, making us all feel more proud of the momentous occasion."
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