Draupadi Murmu Crosses Halfway Mark to Become India's First Tribal President

The victory of Murmu, a member of the Santhal tribe - the largest ethnic group in the state of Jharkhand which is present in certain neighboring states - was largely expected since 44 parties had openly declared their support for her, although the Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha got the backing of 34 parties.

For the first time, a politician from one of India's tribal communities, Draupadi Murmu, has been elected the country's 15th President.

Murmu crossed halfway mark after votes of all MPs and MLAs from 20 states were counted, getting 577,777, while her rival Yashwant Sinha received only 261,062 so far.

Following the announcement, Sinha officially conceded defeat: "I join my fellow citizens in congratulating [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 favor."

The 64-year old mother of three, who started her career as a teacher before joining the BJP was elected as legislator from Rairangpur and became minister of state for transport and commerce and animal husbandry departments in the Odisha government in 2000.

In 2007, she received the Nilakantha Award for the best legislator of the year.

After a decade of a successful political career, Murmu suffered a setback in her personal life when her elder son died in mysterious circumstances in 2009, followed by the death of her second son in a road accident in 2012. In a surprise move, PM Narendra Modi's BJP decided to bring her back into politics, appointing her governor of Jharkhand in 2015 for a six-year term.

The president in India is elected by an electoral college that consists of MPs and elected members of the legislative assemblies of all states.

The current President, Ram Nath Kovind, a leader from the Dalit community, was also chosen with the support of the ruling BJP and declared the winner with 65.6 percent of the votes in the 2017 presidential election. Like Murmu, Kovind also received support from opposition MPs because of his origins, which are at the lowest end of the complex caste hierarchy in Hinduism.

Murmu will take her oath as President of India on 25 July. Meanwhile, the BJP is set to organize a roadshow, starting off from her temporary residence at Teen Murti Marg to the iconic Rajpath in the heart of New Delhi.