The National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Friday filed her nomination for the elections at the Parliament building in Delhi, ANI reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, members of the Union Cabinet and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states were present on the occasion.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s O Paneerselvam and M Thambidurai along with the Janata Dal (United)’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh were also present to support Murmu, according to PTI.
Apart from NDA leaders, the YSR Congress’ V Vijaysai Reddy and the Biju Janata Dal’s Sasmit Patra also marked their presence.
YSR Congress chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has supported Murmu’s candidature, saying that it is in line with his party’s emphasis on the need for representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, The Hindu reported.
BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also supported Murmu for the post of president, and has urged legislators in his state across party lines to support her.
Soon after filing her nomination on Friday, Murmu spoke to Opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee to seek their support for her candidature, PTI reported.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had named Murmu as the NDA’s presidential candidate on June 21. Party chief JP Nadda said that preference had been given to a woman Adivasi candidate for the first time.
After she was named as a candidate, Murmu said she was suprised as well as delighted by the announcement.
The 64-year-old is from Odisha. She served as the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.
The Opposition has named former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as its presidential candidate. On June 22, Sinha said that the election for the president’s post was not a contest between individuals but a battle between two opposing ideologies. He said that he has great regard for Murmu and wishes her well in the polls.
The elections will be held on July 18 and the votes will be counted on July 21. The last date for filing nominations is June 29.
The president is elected by the members of the electoral college consisting of MPs from both Houses of Parliament and MLAs of all states, including the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
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