By Agencies
New Delhi, 21st July 2022: NDA Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday scripted history by becoming the country’s first tribal President defeating Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha. Murmu, 64, won by a huge margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in the counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, that continued for over 10 hours, to succeed Ram Nath Kovind.
At the end of the counting process, returning officer P C Mody declared Murmu as the winner adding that she secured 6,76,803 votes against Sinha’s 3,80,177 votes to become the 15th President of India.Murmu, 64, is the first Adivasi and second woman to become the nation’s First Citizen and the Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces. Murmu was elected to two terms in the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2004, and served as a Minister from 2000 to 2004 in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD-BJP coalition government. She was sworn in as the first woman Governor of Jharkhand in 2015.
Droupadi Murmu secured 2824 first preference votes-value of which is 6,76,803, while her rival Yashwant Sinha bagged 1,877 first preference votes– value of which is 3,80,177 votes, Returning Officer P C Mody said announcing Droupadi Murmu as the 15th President of India. With the Presidential Election Results 2022, India has got the successor of incumbent Ram Nath Kovind. The presidential election counting was held in Room No 63 in Parliament House.
In other developments, the Enforcement Directorate today recorded the statement of Congress president Sonia Gandhi for two hours in the National Herald money laundering case and ended the session for the day on her request as she is recovering from Covid, officials said.
Gandhi, 75, arrived at the ED headquarters located at Vidyut Lane flanking A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi a little after noon escorted by her Z+ category CRPF security cover. Gandhi, who was diagnosed with Covid recently, was seen wearing a mask and was accompanied by her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
