Droupadi Murmu, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party from the eastern state of Odisha, has been elected as the 15th president of India.
The 64-year-old will succeed current President Ram Nath Kovind, whose term ends on July 24th.
Narendra Modi took to social media to announce Murmu’s win, as election commission results showed that she had secured a majority of the votes cast by lawmakers from both houses of the parliament and the legislative assemblies of each of India’s states and territories.
“Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
“India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!” Modi wrote.
Met Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji and congratulated her. pic.twitter.com/ALdJ3kWSLj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 21, 2022
Murmu defeated opposition nominee Yashwant Singh. She now becomes the first Indian President from a tribal community and is the second woman to hold the highest office in the country.
Many Indians are hoping that her tenure will help to uplift India’s marginalized Indigenous population.