Non-NDA Block which has put up former finance minister Yashwant Sinha as their unanimous choice as a candidate for the President’s election received a jolt when the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren pledged his party’s support to Draupadi Murmu.
Draupadi Murmu, who is hailing from a tribal from Odisha, visited Jharkhand where she was warmly received by Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren. Union Minister for tribal affairs Arjun Munda was also present on the occasion. JMM has 30 MLAs and 2 MPs. Third MP will be sworn in on 7th July.
Draupadi Murmu had been the Governor of Jharkhand state for six years. It is in line with political logic that a political party in a state with a sizeable tribal population would not disregard the optics and hence, the support for Murmu by JMM is no surprise as such. The Congress Chief Minister from Chhattisgarh also said that tribal for a president is a good idea. Chhattisgarh also has a considerable tribal population.
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BSP, JDU and Akali Dal also have pledged their support to the Murmu candidature. The ruling BJD in Odisha naturally was the first to endorse the proposal. Mamata Banerjee forwarded the name of Yashwant Sinha, a former BJP leader who has fallen out with the present top brass. He later joined Trinamool Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee.
The Choice to back Draupadi Murmu as presidential candidate by the ruling dispensation, which has required arithmetic strength to see her through is ticking all major right boxes. Even for tokenism, Draupadi Murmu, a widow of immense grit to have overcome the untimely death of her children, hailing from a remote tribal village in Odisha is amply capable of showcasing what is great about our democracy.
