Droupadi Murmu: Once a councillor and now India's president

The arc of triumph forged through personal tragedy is complete for the unassuming politician Droupadi Murmu who started public life as a councillor in Odisha and will be written into history as Indias first tribal president and the second woman in the postOn Thursday the former Jharkhand governor and the BJPled NDAs presidential candidate who found many other backers along her campaign trail won an easy victory over the oppositions pick Yashwant SinhaAt 64 the woman who will be Indias 15th president taking over from Ram Nath Kovind will also be the youngest and Indias first president to be born after Independence She will be sworn in on July 25Also Read IN PHOTOS Droupadi Murmu the strong runner NDA candidate for presidential pollsThe lowprofile politician is believed to be deeply spiritual and a keen practitioner of the meditation techniques of the Brahma Kumaris a movement she embraced after she lost her husband two sons mother and brother in the just six years between 20092015She is deeply spiritual and softspoken person said Basant Kumar Panda BJP leader and Lok Sabha member from KalahandiIn an interview in February 2016 to Doordarshan Murmu gave a glimpse into the tumultuous period of her life when she lost her son in 2009I was devastated and suffered from depression I spent sleepless nights after my sons death It was when I visited Brahma Kumaris I realised I had to move on and live for my two sons and daughter Murmu had saidIn the month since she was nominated as the NDAs presidential candidate on June 21 she has made no public statementThe victory run seemed certain and her numbers were boosted with support from a section of opposition parties such as the BJD Shiv Sena Jharkhand Mukti Morcha YSR Congress BSP TDP Some of these parties had earlier supported the candidature of the joint opposition candidate Yashwant SinhaMurmu travelled throughout the country campaigning for the presidential election and was received warmly across state capitalsHer first steps in politics were taken in Rairangpur where she was a elected as BJP councillor in the Rairangpur Notified Area Council in 1997 and rose to being a minister in Odishas BJDBJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004 In 2015 she was appointed governor of Jharkhand and stayed in the post till 2021She has been through a lot of pain and struggle but doesnt get rattled by adversity said former Odisha BJP president Manmohan SamalBorn into a Santhal family she is an excellent orator in Santhali and Odia languages Samal saidHe added that she had worked extensively to improve infrastructure such as roads and ports in the regionThe tribaldominated Mayurbhanj has been the focus of the BJP which is eyeing a strong foothold in the state The BJD snapped ties with the BJP in 2009 and has consolidated its hold over Odisha since thenMurmu had contested the 2014 assembly election from Rairangpur but lost to the BJD candidateAfter completing her tenure as Jharkhand governor Murmu devoted her time to meditation and social work in RairangpurI am surprised as well as delighted As a tribal woman from remote Mayurbhanj district I had not thought about becoming the candidate for the top post Murmu had said after her selection as the presidential candidateThe hurdles were several and the achievements manyBelonging to Mayurbhanj one of the most remote and underdeveloped districts of the country Murmu earned her Bachelors degree in Arts from Bhubaneswars Ramadevi Womens College in Bhubaneswar and served as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in the Odisha governmentShe also served as an honorary assistant teacher in the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in RairangpurMurmu was awarded the Nilkanth Award for the Best MLA of the year in 2007 by the Odisha Legislative assemblyShe has diverse administrative experience having handled ministries such as transport commerce fisheries and animal husbandry in the Odisha governmentIn the BJP Murmu was vice president and later president of the Scheduled Tribe Morcha in Odisha She was elected the district president of Mayurbhanj West unit of the BJP in 2010 and reelected in 2013 She was also named member of the BJP National Executive ST Morcha the same yearShe held the post of district president till April 2015 when she was appointed as the Governor of JharkhandMurmus daughter Itishree works in a bank in OdishaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever