Draupadi Murmu, the former governor of Jharkhand, was announced as the Bharatiya Janta Party‘s pick for the upcoming presidential elections in India. 

Party chief JP Nadda said in a press conference on late Tuesday, “For the first time, preference has been given to a woman tribal candidate. We announce Draupadi Murmu as NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections”, news agency ANI reported.

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The parliamentary board of the BJP considered nearly 20 candidates for the position, according to Nadda. It was decided that the nominee will be someone from east India, a tribal and woman, PTI reported.

Also Read | In Draupadi Murmu, BJP finds tribal face to follow Dalit president

The Opposition collectively named Yashwant Sinha as the presidential candidate on Tuesday evening. Leaders from nearly 12 parties had been negotiating to finalise their pick.

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, MK Gandhi’s grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi and National Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar turned down nominations for the position.

Shortly after the announcement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Murmu on the nomination. He wrote in a social media post, “I am confident she will be a great President of our nation.”

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“Millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country”, Prime Minister Modi added.

Murmu, a native of Odisha, will be the first-ever tribal woman to become the President of India if she wins the election. The 64-year-old was also reportedly a front-runner before the 2017 presidential elections. However, then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind was picked as the candidate.