Draupadi Murmu looks on course to take over as India’s 15th President from incumbent Ram Nath Kovind. After two rounds of counting, she leads her fellow candidate Yashwant Sinha by a whopping margin of 812 votes (or by a value of 293,423). The former Governor of Jharkhand and BJP’s candidate for the post, the 64-year-old is set to make history by becoming the first tribal woman to hold the President’s office.

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An odds-on favourite to win, Murmu’s candidature received the blessings of parties across the political divide. While strongly backed by the NDA and its allies, non-NDA parties- including Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, OP Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP)- have also come out in her support.

As news filtered out of her sizeable lead, celebrations broke out across the country. A group of folk artists gathered at Delhi’s Mother Teresa Crescent Road to perform a tribal dance in honour of Murmu. Likewise, BJP leaders and party workers were in a euphoric mood outside the state party office in Ranchi, Jharkhand. A huge crowd is steadily gathering outside BJP’s New Delhi headquarters, making merry as Murmu further consolidates her grasp over the nation’s Presidency.

But a motley congregation at a school in Mayurbhanj, Odisha, has caught the eye. Teachers, students and locals alike took part in song and dance at SLS Memorial Residential School. The boarding school, founded by Murmu in memory of her deceased husband and two sons, provides free education to tribal boys and girls.

Also Read: Unlike President polls, BJP has enough votes to ensure win of Vice President nominee 

In related news, Trinamul Congress will abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. Former West Bengal governor Jaydeep Dhankar is NDA’s nominee for the post, while the opposition have proposed veteran politician and former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva for the post.