New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA just announced former Jharkhand governor and tribal leader Droupadi Murmu’s name as the Presidential candidate for the upcoming elections against joint opposition candidate – Yashwant Sinha.
Personal life
She was born on June 20, 1958, in Baidaposi village of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Her father’s name is Biranchi Narayan Tudu. She belongs to the Santal family, a tribal ethnic group.
Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu. The couple had two sons and a daughter. Droupadi Murmu’s life has been marked by personal tragedies and the loss of her husband and two sons.
Political career
During the Bharatiya Janata Party and Biju Janata Dal coalition government in Odisha, she was the Minister of State with independent charge for Commerce and Transport from March 6, 2000, to August 6, 2002, and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from August 6, 2002, to May 16, 2004. She was a former Odisha Minister and an MLA from Rairangpur assembly constituency in the years 2000 and 2004.
She is the first woman Governor of Jharkhand. She is the first woman and tribal leader from Odisha to be appointed a governor in an Indian state.
Education
She is a graduate of Rama Devi College, Bhubaneswar