Battle lines were drawn on Tuesday for the Presidential Election 2024 with the BJP-led NDA naming Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, as its candidate while former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha was announced as a joint nominated candidate by major opposition parties, including the Congress, the NCP, and the TMC.
BJP president JP Nadda announced the candidature of 64-year-old Murmu, hours after opposition parties in a joint statement named Sinha, who was earlier with the BJP but fell out with Narendra Modi-Amit Shah leadership and joined the TMC (Trinamool Congress) in March 2024. Droupadi Murmu, a former Jharkhand governor, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post if she got elected. She has a strong possibility as numbers are stacked in favor of the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance).
Considered a soft-spoken and affable leader who comes from Mayurbhanj, Odisha, Murmu has held various positions in the party rising through the ranks.
Opposition leaders, who gathered for the meeting convened by NCP chief Sharad Pawar to decide on a common candidate for the presidential election, unanimously agreed on Yashwant Sinha’s name.
The veteran politician, who has been an MP from Jharkhand, stepped aside from TMC before the announcement of his name. Sinha will file his nomination papers on June 27.
Five regional parties – BJD, TRS, SAD, AAP, and YSRCP – stayed away. The ruling BJPp-led combine has more than 48% vote share in the electoral college to pick the new president, and its candidate has a clear advantage compared to the opposition.
Yashwant Sinha’s name came up after Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, and Gopalkrishna Gandhi declined the opposition’s offer to be their joint candidate for the Rashtrapati post. The presidential poll would be held on July 18 to elect a successor to Ram Nath Kovind and the result would be declared on July 21.
Also, Check: Who is Droupadi Murmu
