Who is Draupadi Murmu, the tribal leader in race to be President?

The BJP parliamentary board on Tuesday named Draupadi Murmu, a tribal leader of the party from Odisha, as the ruling NDA's candidate for the presidential election. BJP president J P Nadda announced her name at a press conference following the party's top brass meeting. 

Also read: Ex-Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu to be NDA candidate for presidential polls

64-year-old Murmu, a former Jharkhand governor, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post if elected, which is a strong possibility as numbers are stacked in favour of the BJP-led NDA. If elected, she would also be the country's first President from the state of Odisha.

The opposition had earlier announced Yashwant Sinha as its joint candidate for the post. The poll is slated for July 18.

Born on June 20, 1958, Murmu served as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021. Hailing from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and coming from a tribal community, Murmu completed her studies despite extreme circumstances. She holds a Bachelors in Arts Degree from Ramadevi Women’s College, Bhubaneswar. Before entering Odisha politics, she taught in a Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur, without salary. She contested and won the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat councillor post in 1997.

Murmu then served as vice president of BJP's Scheduled Tribes Morcha. She became an MLA twice on a BJP ticket from Mayurbhaj's Rairangpur in 2000 and 2009. She has held several key positions within the party throughout her political career.

Murmu was also a national executive member of the saffron party's ST Morcha from 2013 to 2015. She has handled various ministries in Odisha like Transport and Commerce and has also served across multiple departments like fisheries, animal husbandry etc.

Murmu is married to Ganesh Ch Hembram and the couple have one daughter, Mrs Itishree Murmu.

Also read: Special pen to mark vote in President election; here's all you need to know

To recall, when Pranab Mukherjee's tenure as President was ending, Murmu's name had been doing the rounds as among the favourite choices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here's her career timeline:

2015-2021: Governor of Jharkhand State 
2013 : National Executive Member S.T. Morcha, B.J.P. till April,10th, 2015.
2013 : Again Elected as District President , Mayurbhanj (West), B.J.P. till April, 10th 2015.
2010 : District President, Mayurbhanj (West), B.J.P.
2007 : Awarded as "Nilakantha Award" for The Best MLA of the year 2007 by Legislative Assembly of Odisha.
2006-2009 : State President S.T. Morcha, B.J.P.
2004-2009 : Member of Legislative Assembly, Rairangpur,Odisha.
2002-2009 : National Executive Member S.T. Morcha, B.J.P.
2000-2004 : Member of Legislative Assembly,Rairangpur, Odisha and became Minister of  State (Independent Charge), Govt.of Odisha, Department of Transport and Commerce. 
2002-2004 : Animal Husbandry Department Govt.of Odhisa.
2002-2002 : Department of Fisheries Govt.of Odhisa.
1997 : Vice-President State S.T. Morcha, BJP.
1997 : Won As Councilor and became Vice-Chairperson Rairangpur

Service Career:
1979-1983 : Served As Jr Asst in irrigation and power Dept, Govt of Odisha
1994-1997: Honorary Asst:Teacher at Shri Aurobindo integral Education Centre, Rairangpur

• Draupadi Murmu
• BJP
• NDA
• President of India