Tag: Droupadi Murmu

  • Presidential polls 2022: When outcome is often certain and messaging important

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Outcomes of presidential polls have been mostly certain even before the first vote was cast and rival political parties have often used the contest to send out a larger message centred around their politics through their choices.

    In 2012, the BJP backed P A Sangma against the UPA’s Pranab Mukherjee in the hope to earn some brownie points for supporting a tribal candidate from the North East while K R Narayanan and A P J Abdul Kalam were such a powerful mix of symbolism and substance in 1997 and 2002 respectively that even the main opposition party ended up backing them.

    Narayanan, a former diplomat who came from the Scheduled Caste, was a candidate of the United Front government and the Congress, and had received support from the opposition BJP as well.

    And when the saffron party picked Kalam, a much admired and respected scientist, when it was in power, the Congress supported him.

    With its choice of Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from a humble background, the BJP seems to have succeeded in sending a wider message about its representative politics after naming a Dalit in 2017, incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind, as she is all but certain to be India’s first ST president.

    Have the Congress and other strident BJP rivals like the Trinamool Congress and the Left been able to make an important point with their choice of former Union minister Yashwant Sinha? Political experts believe the Congress decision to back Sinha, first a choice of the TMC, does signal its willingness to accommodate regional parties as the opposition gears up for the 2024 general election even though the candidate, a former BJP leader, himself may not inspire much enthusiasm and confidence.

    The opposition’s decision to settle on a former BJP leader who rebelled against its current leadership seems to convey the message that all those against the present government should come together, said Manindra Nath Thakur, associate professor at the Centre for Political Studies of JNU.

    On symbolism, however, the opposition has lost out as even anti-BJP voices are wondering what is big deal about its candidate, he said, describing Sinha (84) as an “exhausted politician” who always lacked any mass appeal.

    Though he does enjoy a clean image, Thakur added.

    That Sinha is a bureaucrat-turned-politician from an upper caste while Murmu is a tribal person from one of the most backward regions of Odisha has only accentuated the contrast, prompting regional parties such as the BJD and the YSR Congress to back her while an opposition member like Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which associates itself with the tribal cause, is also in a bind.

    Mayawati’s BSP has announced support to Murmu as well.

    Thakur said the opposition could have experimented with a Dalit or Muslim candidate at a time when the BJP is going all out with its politics of representation to convey that its ideology of Hindutva and nationalism has a space for the most disadvantaged sections of society.

    Noting that its critics have often tried to project the RSS-BJP as a proponent of Brahminical ideology which is “anti-Dalit, anti-tribal and anti-Muslim”, the ruling party has assiduously worked to break this campaign, he said.

    Its projection of Kovind helped silence most Dalit voices working against the BJP, and Murmu’s candidature will achieve a similar feat among tribals, Thakur said, adding the party had already been getting support from a section of tribals.

    This support will be further consolidated, he added.

    When the BJP-led NDA picked Kovind in 2017, the Congress-led opposition zeroed in on Meira Kumar, also a Dalit, so as to be not accused of opposing a candidate from the most disadvantaged section of society.

    In 2007, the UPA choice of Pratibha Patil had split the BJP-led NDA as Shiv Sena, then an ally of the saffron party, chose to back her as she was from Maharashtra instead of its own alliance candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

    She went on to become India’s first woman President.

    The UPA’s choice of Mukherjee, a veteran politician who drew respect from rival parties too, had caused a similar flutter in the NDA ranks as the likes of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) besides Shiv Sena broke ranks with the BJP to back him.

    With the numbers mostly on their side, the ruling alliance at the Centre has always had the advantage in outwitting the opposition through its choice.

    All the opposition can do is to make the most of the losing battle to score a point about its ideological messaging.

    This is what it sought to do in 1982 when it named former Supreme Court judge H R Khanna, whose solitary voice of dissent in favour of civil liberties shone through when the court sided with the government’s decision on suspending them in the Emergency, as its candidate against the ruling Congress’ Zail Singh.

    It was to emphasise its staunch ideological opposition to the BJP that made the Left parties field Lakshmi Sahgal, a member of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj, against Kalam in 2002 even though the Congress supported him, a BJP choice.

    In 1992, opposition parties backed George Gilbert Swell, a seasoned parliamentarian and tribal leader who played an important role in the movement for statehood of Meghalaya, against the Congress’ Shankar Dayal Sharma, who won easily.

    Though presidential contest generally generates not much buzz even as the contestants do so sometime due to their personal stature and background, the 1969 poll was consequential like no other past election, and no future battle for India’s top constitutional post has matched its resonance as well so far.

    The bubbling tension between the Congress establishment, including its president S Nijalingappa, and then prime minister Indira Gandhi erupted as she disapproved of her party’s choice Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and instead showed preference for V V Giri, who contested as an independent.

    Giri won, Gandhi was expelled from the party by Nijalingappa only for her to walk away with a large number of party members and a majority of MPs as well.

    With the BJP making out efforts to secure a maximum vote for Murmu, Sinha has projected the upcoming poll as a contest between identity and ideology and asserted that it will have a defining impact on the country’s politics.

    Political watchers will be keenly watching the outcome, especially the support he can rally around, for the evidence of his claims.

  • NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu meets PM Modi 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday soon after arriving in the national capital.

    Modi said her candidature for the post of President has been appreciated across India by all sections of society.

    She is expected to file her nomination papers on Friday, with Modi tipped to be the first proposer.

    A host of senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and functionaries from other parties supporting her bid, are also set to be among the proposers.

    In a tweet, Modi said, “Met Droupadi Murmu Ji. Her Presidential nomination has been appreciated across India by all sections of society. Her understanding of grassroots problems and vision for India’s development is outstanding.”

    She will also meet a host of senior leaders and then embark on a nationwide campaign, urging different political parties to support her bid.

    If elected, a strong possibility given that Murmu (64) already has the support of a majority in the electoral college, she will be the first tribal person to be the President of India.

    The Opposition has fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as its joint candidate for the post.

  • Centre accords Z+ security cover to NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Centre has accorded a Z+ security cover of CRPF commandos to the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, officials said on Wednesday.

    The armed squad took over the security of Murmu, 64, early Wednesday morning, a senior officer said.

    ALSO READ | From remote Mayurbhanj to Raisina Hill: A tough yet illustrious journey of Droupadi Murmu

    BJP president J P Nadda announced the candidature of Murmu, a party leader from Odisha who served as Jharkhand governor, at a press conference on Monday night following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.

    Officials said soon after this announcement, the Union home ministry directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deploy its VIP security protection team to take charge of Murmu’s security.

  • I am confident Droupadi Murmu will be a great President: PM Narendra Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Soon after Droupadi Murmu was named as the BJP-led NDA’s presidential candidate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the former Jharkhand governor has devoted her life to serving society and expressed confidence that she will be a “great President”.

    Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised. She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure. I am confident she will be a great President of our nation.
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 21, 2022
    The BJP parliamentary board on Tuesday named Murmu, a tribal leader of the party from Odisha, as the ruling NDA’s candidate for the presidential election. “Droupadi Murmu Ji has devoted her life to serving society and empowering the poor, downtrodden as well as the marginalised,” Modi said on Twitter.

    She has rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure, he said. “I am confident she will be a great President of our nation,” Modi said.

    The prime minister said that millions of people, especially those who have experienced poverty and faced hardships, derive great strength from the life of Droupadi Murmu. “Her understanding of policy matters and compassionate nature will greatly benefit our country,” Modi said.

  • Jharkhand Governor summons CM Hemant Soren over increasing crimes against women

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: Governor Droupadi Murmu summoned Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday and expressed concern over increasing rape incidents and crimes against women in Jharkhand. She told CM Soren that such incidents malign the image of the state. Soren assured her that action will be taken soon after proper investigation into the matters.

    Earlier, the Governor also talked to Jharkhand Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan over the phone and asked to set up fast track courts for rape cases and crimes against women so that such cases could be disposed of without delay and culprits could be punished accordingly.

    “The accused, who have been arrested immediately, should also be put behind bars so that deterrence could be created among criminals and such incidents may be checked,” said Murmu. The Jharkhand High Court, by taking such steps, may set up an example in bringing down the incidents of rape and crime against women, she added.

    Meanwhile, a delegation of BJP Women’s cell, headed by Koderma MP Annapurna Devi, also met the Governor and appraised her about the increasing incidents of rape, crime against women and murder in the State.