Droupadi Murmu becomes India's first tribal President

Droupadi Murmu bagged 51.2 per cent of total vote value after three rounds of counting. There is still one more round of counting to go.

She is the first President of India born post-independence and the youngest ever at the age of 64 years.  

In his congratluatory message Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: "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."

He also thanked the MPs and MLAs across party lines who have supported the candidature of Murmu and helped her win the race to become the 15th President of India.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Murmu for her victory in Presidential Election.

Among the states where votes have been counted include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisharh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was among the first to congratulate Murmu stating: "The first women tribal to become President is a momentous occasion and thanks to PM Modi for giving such unique gift. There is absolute euphoria in Assam, particularly in the tea gardens, people are very happy."

Yashwant Sinha also congratulated Murmu, who is the 15th president of India.

"I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Smt Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour," he wrote in his statement.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, who had supported Oppostions's candidate Yashwant Sinha in the polls, Congratulated Murmu after her win.

In her tweet, she wrote: "I would like to congratulate Hon'ble Presidential Elect Smt Draupadi Murmu. The country will sincerely look up to you as the Head of State to protect the ideals of our Constitution & be the custodian of our democracy, especially when nation is plagued with so many dissensions."

Murmu, a tribal woman from Odisha and a former Jharkhand Governor,  was NDA's choice, who also worked as a move to split the Opposition and garner support from non-aligned parties, such as Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress.

Congratulating Murmu, Naveen Patnaik tweeted: "Congratulate the daughter of #Odisha, Smt #DroupadiMurmu on being elected as 15th President of India. It is indeed a very proud moment for everyone in Odisha that she has been elected for the highest office in the country."

The Delhi BJP has already started its celebrations with a roadshow from the party headquarters, which will end at Rajpath. All state units of the BJP have also planned victory processions.

The Presidential election took place on Jul 18 with elected members of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies comprising the electoral college voting to elect the next President.

Who is Draupadi Murmu? Read to know

1. Draupadi Murmu was born in a Santali tribal family of Odisha.

2. She served as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.

3. She is the first Governor of Jharkhand to complete the five-year term.

4. She is the first person belonging to the scheduled tribe to be nominated for the Presidential election.

5. In 1997, Murmu was elected as the councillor of the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat.

6. She was the national vice president of the BJP's Scheduled Tribes Morcha.

7. From 2002-2004, Murmu was the Minister of State with an Independent Charge of Commerce and Transport in the BJP-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) coalition government in Odisha.

8. She was an MLA from the Rairangpur assembly constituency from 2000-2004.