Murmu seeks Oppn support, files papers
NEW DELHI: National Democratic Alliance’s presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu, accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday filed her nomination papers for the July 18 Presidential election soon after reaching out to key opposition leaders seeking their support for her candidature.
According to people aware of the matter, the former Jharkhand governor spoke to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee.
All the three leaders expressed their best wishes to her, the people cited above said, adding that Banerjee did not make any commitment to support Murmu.
The Opposition has fielded former union minister Yashwant Sinha as its candidate for the Presidential polls.
All the three leaders expressed their best wishes to her, the people cited above said
Prime Minister Modi handed over Murmu’s set of papers to returning officer P C Mody during the nomination process. She was accompanied by a host of Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and BJP president J P Nadda.
Several chief ministers of BJP-ruled states including Yogi Adityanath, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, Jairam Thakur, Pushkar Singh Dhami and leaders of some NDA supporting parties like YSRCP, BJD and AIADMK were also present during Murmu’s nomination filing.
Nadda on Friday also reached out to various opposition leaders for supporting Murmu, including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former prime minister and JDS leader H D Devegowda, while seeking to build a consensus on Murmu’s candidature.
If elected, Murmu will be the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President. She is also the first presidential candidate from
Odisha of a major political party or alliance. Mumru served as the Jharkhand governor from 2015 to 2021.
She started her political career as Rairangpur NAC vicechairman. Murmu was a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Rairangpur between 2000 and 2004. As a minister, she held portfolios of transport and commerce, animal Husbandry and fisheries. She again served as MLA in the Odisha assembly from 2004 to 2009.
The results of the Presidential will be out by July 21. President Ram Nath Kovind’s term will end on July 24.