Droupadi Murmu Becomes 15th President Of India With 64% Votes

Droupadi Murmu Becomes 15th President Of India With 64% Votes

Droupadi Murmu, a former Governor of Jharkhand and candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is elected as India’s 15th President in the 16th Presidential Election of 2022. She is the first ever tribal to hold the top Constitutional Post and second woman president after Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

• She will take the oath of office on July 25, 2022, a day after the tenure of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind expires on 24th July 2022.
• Murmu defeated opposition candidate and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.
• Pratibha Devisingh Patil, India’s first woman president, held the position from 2007 to 2012.

Droupadi Murmu: 15th President of India, 2022

Many Firsts

1. Droupadi Murmu would be the first tribal woman to be elected President of India, the highest office in the country.
2. Murmu, aged 64 years, will also be the youngest and India’s first president to be born after Independence.
3. She is the first President of India who hails from Odisha.

Career Highlights

 Murmu was born on June 20, 1958, in Mayurbhanj, Odisha. She belongs to the Santhal tribe in Odisha.

• She worked as a teacher at a local school before going into public service, first as a councillor and then as vice president of BJP’s Scheduled Tribes Morcha.
• She served as a Minister in the Odisha government between March 2000 and May 2004, during the (Biju Janata Dal) BJD-BJP rule.
• She was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) twice from Odisha’s Rairangpur Constituency in 2000 and 2004 on a BJP ticket.
• In 2015, she was appointed as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand and remained in the post till 2021.
• She was also awarded the prestigious ‘Nilakantha Award for Best MLA’ in 2007 by the legislative assembly.

How is the President of India elected?

According to Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament consists of the President of India and the two Houses of Parliament known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House of the People (Lok Sabha).

i. As per Article 54 of the Constitution, the President of India is indirectly elected by the Members of an Electoral College consisting of

• The elected members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha), and
• The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States [including National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry].

ii. The Members nominated to either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies of States, including NCT of Delhi and UT of Puducherry, are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College.

iii. The Election to the office of President of Indian Republic is one of the most important elections, which the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducts vide the mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

• The ECI assigns a varying number of votes to the electoral college’s members proportionate to the size of their constituency.

Method of Election

i. According to Article 55 (3) of the Constitution, the election to the Office of President of India is held in accordance with the System of Proportional Representation by Means of the Single Transferable Vote and the voting at such election is by secret ballot.

ii. The Constitution (Eighty-fourth) Amendment Act, 2001 provides that until the relevant population figures for the first census to be taken after the year 2026 have been published, the population of the States for the purposes of calculation of vthe alue of votes for the Presidential Election shall mean the population as ascertained at the 1971-census.

Eligibility Criteria (Article 58)

i. No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he/she –

• is a citizen of India;
• has completed the age of 35 years; and
• is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People (Lok Sabha)

ii. A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any Local or other Authority subject to the control of any of the State Governments.

iii. However, a person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason only that he is the President or Vice-President of the Union or the Governor of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for any State.

Articles related to president appointment and its functions:-

• Article 52 – The president of India
• Article 53 – Executive power of the Union
• Article 54 – Election of President.
• Article 55 – Manner of election of President
• Article 56 – Term of office of President
• Article 57 – Eligibility for re-election.
• Article 58 – Qualifications for election as President.
• Article 59 – Conditions of President’s office.
• Article 60 – Oath or affirmation by the President.
• Article 61 – Procedure for impeachment of the President
• Article 62 – Time of holding election to fill the vacancy in the office of President and the term of office of person elected to fill casual vacancy.
• Article 72 -Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases.
• Article 123 – Power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament

Santhal Tribes

1. The Santhals, after the Gonds and the Bhils, make up India’s third-largest Scheduled Tribe (ST) community. Their population is primarily concentrated in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The Santals speak Santali, the most widely spoken of the Munda languages.
2. Santhals can be found in Keonjhar, Balasore, and other districts besides Mayurbhanj in Odisha. Mayurbhanj has one of the highest concentrations of the tribe.
3. The Santhals are also acknowledged with confronting the East India Company’s force during the Santal Hul (revolution) of 1855-56. Santhals are a Munda ethnic group native to South Asia.
4. According to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the word “Santhal” is derived from two words: “santha,” which means calm and peaceful, and “ala,” which means man.

Other Notable Santhal Personalities

1. Hemant Soren, the current Chief Minister of Jharkhand, also belongs to the Santhal tribe.
2. Girish Chandra Murmu, the first Lieutenant Governor of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, is now Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
3. Mayurbhanj Member of Parliament (MP), Bishweswar Tudu, a Santhal, is Union Minister of State (MoS) for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti.

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