Presidential election 2022: NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu dials Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, seeks support

Presidential election 2022: NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu called key opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP's Sharad Pawar and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee ahead of filing her nomination.

New Delhi: Before filing her nomination for the Presidential election 2022 in the presence of BJP leaders, NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu on Friday (June 24) dialled top opposition leaders seeking support, PTI reported. Murmu called key opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP's Sharad Pawar and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. As per PTI sources, the three leaders extended best wishes to the former Jharkhand Governor. Murmu filed her nomination with Prime Minister Narendra Modi handing over her set of papers to Returning Officer P C Mody. She was accompanied to Parliament by several 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, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jairam Thakur, Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present, while leaders of some NDA supporting parties like YSRCP, BJD and AIADMK also ensured their presence when Murmu was filing her nomination papers. 

The BJP on Tuesday had named Murmu as the ruling NDA's candidate for the presidential election, pitching her against the Opposition parties' nominee former Minister of Finance and External Affairs Yashwant Sinha. The candidature of Murmu (64) holds significance as she will be the first person from Odisha and the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post if elected. She will be the second woman to hold the top post and the youngest president ever, second only to N Sanjeeva Reddy. 

Besides  Biju Janata Dal (BJD), YSR Congress has announced its support to NDA nominee Murmu. Hailing her nomination, a release from the Chief Minister's Office said, "It is a good sign that a person from a tribal community, that too a woman, has been nominated for the President's post for the first time in the history of independent India. Hence, the YSRC extends its support to her."

(With agency inputs)