Droupadi Murmu: 7 lesser-known facts about India’s first tribal and second woman President-elect

By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 21, 2022, 8:24 PM IST

Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal and second woman President of India. She faced former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who was nominated as the opposition candidate. Here are 7 lesser known facts you need to know about her.

Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal and second woman President of India. She faced former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, who was nominated as the opposition candidate.

The NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu got closer to her victory as she crossed the halfway mark after third round of counting of votes. Murmu received 2,161 votes, with a vote count of 5,77,777, while Sinha got 1,058 votes with vote count of 2,61,062, in the third round.

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Murmu rose from a Santhal hamlet in Odisha's rural Mayurbhanj district to become India's first woman tribal governor, climbing from a class 3 state government employee to a school teacher to a politician. Murmu's ownership by the state brings additional joy to the state's 4.5 crore inhabitants.

Here are 7 lesser known facts about Murmu:

Murmu was born on the 20th of June, 1958. She received her diploma from Rama Devi Women's College, which is now a university. Murmu had previously worked as a class-III employee in the Odisha Irrigation Department after graduating.
Murmu worked as a teacher before entering politics. She had previously served as an assistant professor at Rairangpur's Shri Aurobindo Integral Education and Research Institute.
While she was prospering in her political career, tragedy in her personal life clouded her life. She lost her spouse and two boys in 2014. Nonetheless, she sought to alleviate the pain of others.

Also Read | India gets its first tribal president as Droupadi Murmu defeats Yashwant Sinha
64-year-old Murmu is a two-time BJP MLA from Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj and a former Odisha minister. She was appointed as the governor of Jharkhand and served in that capacity until 2021, making her the state's first female governor. She was the Governor of Jharkhand from May 2015 to July 2021, being the state's longest-serving governor since the state's inception in 2000.
The Odisha Legislative Assembly presented Droupadi Murmu with the Nilkanth Award for the Best MLA of the Year in 2007.
Murmu said in 2016 that she will donate her eyeballs after death to Ranchi's Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital.

Also Read: Who is Draupadi Murmu, the tribal leader in race to be President?
During her tenure, Murmu organised Lok Adalats on higher education issues in the state, which resulted in the resolution of around 5,000 cases involving university lecturers and workers. She established the Chancellor's portal to centralise the enrolling process at the state's universities and institutions.