Presidential polls 2022: NDA nominee Draupadi Murmu to file nomination today, top BJP leaders to accompany her

New Delhi: NDA'S presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, who arrived in the national capital on Wednesday from Bhubaneswar, will file her nomination papers today in the presence of top BJP leaders. Her nomination papers are being prepared at Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi's residence, sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, and BJP president J P Nadda will be among her proposers.

Union ministers and senior BJP leaders are signing on as proposers and seconders at Joshi's residence. BJD's Sasmit Patra, whose party has backed her nomination, was also among those at Joshi's home to sign the papers.

Several Delhi BJP leaders, including state president Adesh Gupta, party MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ramesh Bidhuri, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, welcomed Murmu at the airport. Murmu, who is staying at the Odisha Bhavan, is likely to call on the prime minister. To make the nomination filing a grand event, the BJP has invited its allies as well as Biju Janata Dal, which has announced its support for Murmu, to attend the nomination filing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised NDA`s Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu for her "understanding of the problems on the ground" and dubbed her vision for India`s development as "extraordinary". The Prime Minister made the remarks after he met Murmu in New Delhi. After Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also met the NDA`s Presidential candidate.

Sharing pictures of his meeting with Murmu on Twitter, Prime Minister Modi wrote, "Met Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her Presidential nomination has been appreciated across India by all sections of society. Her understanding of grassroots problems and vision for India`s development is outstanding."

The Opposition parties have declared Yashwant Sinha as their joint candidate. The election for the next President of the country will be held on July 18 while the result will be declared on July 21. Draupadi Murmu is the first presidential candidate from Odisha of a major political party or alliance. She continues to break barriers and was the first woman governor of Jharkhand. 

She served as Jharkhand Governor from 2015 to 2021. Coming from a poor tribal family in the village of Mayurbhanj, a backward district in Odisha, Droupadi Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. 

She taught at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur. She started her political career as Rairangpur NAC vice-chairman. Droupadi 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.

In 2007, the Odisha assembly honoured her with the `Nilakantha Award` for best MLA. She served as a junior assistant in Irrigation and Power Department between 1979 and 1983. She has held several organisational posts in BJP and was vice president of state ST Morcha in 1997.

Draupadi Murmu was a national executive member of BJP`s ST Morcha from 2013 to 2015 and served as BJP district chief of Mayurbhanj (West) in 2010 and 2013. Between 2006 and 2009, she was chief of BJP`s ST Morcha in Odisha.  She was a member of the national executive of BJP ST Morcha from 2002 to 2009.Notably, the voting for the next President of India will kick start on July 18 whose counting will take place on July 21.