Droupadi Murmu officially declared India's 15th President, first from tribal community

After the conclusion of the vote-counting on Thursday, Droupadi Murmu, the NDA's presidential candidate, was officially declared as the India's 15th president. Yashwant Sinha received 1,877 votes with a value of 3,80,177, while Murmu received 2,824 votes with a value of 6,76,803. 4,809 MPs and MLAs participated in the voting that was conducted on July 18. President-elect Droupadi Murmu received the certificate at her residence in Delhi from PC Mody, Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha and Returning Officer for the 2022 Presidential Election.

At 64, she will also be the youngest and India's first president to be born after Independence. She will be sworn in on July 25.

The Indian Prime Minister called this victory a historic moment in the history of India. He tweeted that "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! Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat."

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BJP leader J P Nadda, key members of his Cabinet, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her for the thumping victory.

Yaswant Sinha has also conceded defeat. Taking to Twitter, he posted that "I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Smt Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour."

On July 18, 771 MPs and 4025 MLAs voted in the presidential election, accounting for more than 99 percent of the electoral college. Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha of the combined opposition contested the election head-to-head. With this thumping victory, Droupadi Murmu has become India's first tribal woman president.

She hasn't made any public statements in the month since being named the NDA's presidential candidate on June 21.Her numbers were boosted by backing from a number of opposition parties, including the BJD, Shiv Sena, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, YSR Congress, BSP, and TDP, and the victory run appeared assured. Some of these organisations had previously backed Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition candidate.

Murmu visited state capitals around the nation to campaign for the presidency and received a warm welcome everywhere he went.

Odisha's Rairangpur village, the native place of Droupadi Murmu erupted in celebrations in anticipation of Droupadi Murmu's victory.A large crowd gathered outside BJP headquarters in Delhi earlier this evening to celebrate her victory.

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