India on 21st of July 2022 got its 15th President as the NDA choice President Draupadi Murmu won the Presidential Election by scooping up the majority of total votes. She defeated Yashwant Sinha in her opposition. She is the first tribal woman to hold the top constitutional post in India. President Droupadi Murmu is also the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hold the post. She is also the first President of India who was born after independence and the youngest to occupy the position.
Murmu, who is 64 years old, won the election with a huge margin and secured 64 percent of the votes. She succeeded Ram Nath Kovind, the former President of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and JP Nadda, BJP President congratulated the leader and visited Murmu’s residence. The elected MLAs and MPs of the country voted for the country’s 15th President across 31 locations which includes the Parliament House and 30 other centers within the state legislative assemblies.
The Election Procedure
Out of 736 electors which comprised 727 MPs and 9 MLAs who secured the permission by the election commission voted at the Parliament House. 728 electors cast their votes and the total turnout was 98.91 percent. Yashwant Sinha of the opposition conceded defeat after the three rounds of counting. President Droupadi Murmu will take oath on 25th of July.
Some Big Points of the Top Story
- Ms. Murmu secured 64.03% of the votes after the three rounds of counting. Mr. Sinha on the other hand only got 35.97% of the total votes. A value of 5, 43,000 are required to win these elections. Ms. Murmu received 28, 24 votes with a total value of 6, 76,803. In contrast, Mr. Sinha got 1,877 votes with a value of 3, 80,177.
- Prime Minister of India, with all the senior leaders of the Cabinet and BJP President JP Nadda, visited to congratulate Ms. Murmu. Celebrations continued across the country with colorful tribal dances and sweets. Ms. Murmu, who is 64, is the youngest President of India.
- Leaders from all across the country, Governors, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and various political party leaders congratulated President Droupadi Murmu. Leaders of the opposition including Sonia Gandhi the Congress Chief, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, NCP Chief also congratulated Ms Murmu.
- Rairangpur, Odisha, Ms, Murmu’s hometown witnessed the breaking out of the celebrations after the final declaration.
- NDA choosing Ms. Murmu, the former Governor of Jharkhand, a tribal woman from Odisha drove a wedge between the opposition. It brought the non-aligned parties like Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress on board. The move is also identified as a huge political message for the tribal community. We have of late seen the tribal community is a bit disenchanted with the BJP in the country.
- The voting also indicated a significant amount of cross-voting by the MLAs and MPs of the opposition in favor of Ms. Murmu. While the parties declare support for one candidate or the other, there is not any penalty to cross-vote in the presidential elections. Though there isn’t any data available yet on the cross voting in the elections there are speculations of some MLAs breaking the rank with their parties.
- The winning Presidential candidate is not only who gets the most votes, but the one who crosses a quota. The procedure to determine this quota is by adding the votes polled for each candidate and then dividing by two then adding one to it. If someone does not cross the mark at first, other subsequent preferences come into play.
PM Modi Tweeted
“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,” PM Modi tweeted.
Ms. Murmu has served as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021. She has also held various other important portfolios in the Cabinet of the Government of Odisha from 2000 to 2004. Before making her foray into politics, she worked in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983. Ms. Murmu has also worked as a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Center until 1997.
