Droupadi Murmu, NDA's candidate for the post of President of India, files nomination papers

Droupadi Murmu, a candidate for the ruling NDA, filed her nomination for the post of President of India on Friday. She did so in the presence of senior BJP and coalition leaders as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murmu submitted her paperwork in the Parliament House complex's office of the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General and the Returning Officer. Her name was proposed for nomination by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seconded. The chief ministers of BJP-ruled states made up the second group of proposers, followed by Gujarat MLAs and MPs and Himachal and Haryana MLAs and MPs for the third and fourth groups. 

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As per an IANS report Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Pralhad Joshi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, besides the Chief Ministers of other BJP-ruled states, many ministers of the Modi cabinet, MPs and BJP veterans were present during Murmu's nomination at Parliament House.

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Apart from JD(U) National President Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel, leaders of NDA constituents were also present during the filing of her nomination papers. Leaders of the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress, who had announced their support for Murmu, were also present.

Droupadi Murmu, the first female tribal leader to submit a nomination for the highest constitutional position in the nation, is an experienced politician from Odisha with a strong academic background. She is the former Jharkhand Governor and former minister from Odisha. 

If elected, she would become the second woman and first tribal President of India.

The deadline for presidential nominations is June 29. The election will be held on July 18, and the results will be tallied on July 21. The opposition party's nominee is Yashwant Sinha.

(With inputs from agencies)