By G Krishna Mohan Rao in New Delhi
& Debi Mohanty in Rairangpur
Tribals dance and sing the whole day at the native place of Droupadi in Odisha
New Delhi/Rairangpur: Droupadi Murmu was today elected as the 15th President of India. She is the second female President after Pratibha Patil and the first ever person from the tribal community to hold the topmost Constitutional post in the country.
Supported by the ruling NDA, Murmu defeated the Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Her victory was declared here at Parliament House soon after the counting process got over. While conceding his defeat, Sinha congratulated Murmu.
Interestingly, a total of 17 MPs and 104 MLA cross-voted during the Presidential polls in favour of Murmu, according to sources. Earlier, during the first round of counting, Murmu secured 540 votes with a value of 3,78,000 as against Sinha who secured 208 votes with a value of 1,45,600. In the last round, the states covered were Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, and Punjab. In this round, the total valid votes were 1,333. The total value of valid votes is 1,65,664. Droupadi Murmu got 812 votes against Yashwant Sinha’s 521 votes.
Out of the total 3219 votes with a total value of 8,38,839, Murmu bagged a total of 2161 votes, amounting to a value of 5,77,777. Her opponent Sinha lagged behind receiving only 1058 votes with a value of 2,61,062. Murmu will be sworn in as the President of the Republic on July 25, 2022.
Soon after her formal declaration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah called on Murmu and congratulated her, while sending a strong political message to the country, for electing a tribal whose population constitute about 11 crores.
Modi took to Twitter to state, “Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji’s life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden.” He added: “Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has been an outstanding MLA and Minister. She had an excellent tenure as Jharkhand Governor. I am certain she will be an outstanding President who will lead from the front and strengthen India’s development journey.”
Several Union Ministers and other celebrities called on the Murmu to congratulate her. The Bharatiya Janata Party chief, JP Nadda, said that the elevation of Murmu is historic in the 75th year of independence.
Yashwant Sinha, while congratulating her on her success, hoped that she would not give in to “ fear or favour”. He further said that the countrymen hoped that as the 15th President, she will fulfil the responsibility as the guardian of the Constitution without any “fear or favour”.
Meanwhile, Rairangpur in Odisha, from where began Murmu’s political journey, sported a colourful look the whole day today. The town has been decorated with lights and flowers as the residents are in a mood to remember the occasion.
Also read: A journey to Droupadi Murmu’s tribal village of the Santhals
Even before the counting started, celebrations had begun in this sleepy sub-divisional town. “We knew she is winning comfortably. It’s a historic day for the tribal community, Mayurbhanj district and our State. The entire State is celebrating Didi”, a local resident Pradip Rout, 60, said.
Rout, who claims to be an associate of Murmu over the last two decades, informed that 10 quintal ladoos were distributed today. Besides, there were tribals dancing and singing in different parts of this town and it’s going to be the same tomorrow, said Rout.
People in Murmu’s village Uperbeda and different tribal pockets in the district also enjoyed the day. They danced to the beats of traditional music. Yesterday, on the eve of the counting day, prayers had been offered at different locations for Murmu’s victory.
People in different districts of Odisha-Balasore, Koraput etc also went into a dance and music mode. In Bhubaneswar, the BJP office was full of fun, as traditional musical instruments were played and sweets were distributed. The ruling Biju Janata Dal too celebrated her win today.
