Draupadi Murmu has become the 15th President of India in a historic win that has seen a politician from an indigenous community take the country’s highest elective office.
Indian lawmakers on Thursday elected Draupadi Murmu for the largely ceremonial role of the president, making her the first president from one of the country’s tribal communities.
Murmu a 64 year old also becomes just the second woman to take over the role.
“A daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
Muru will take the oath on 25th. Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu met Murmu and congratulated her. Kishan Reddy took Veda pundits to bless Murmu at her residence in Delhi.
The term of India’s current president, Ram Nath Kovind, ends on July 25, which is when the new president is set to take the oath of office.
The country’s constitution mandates lawmakers to fill the presidential position before the incumbent president’s term is up.
India’s president is a largely ceremonial position, and executive powers are wielded by the prime minister and his cabinet under India’s constitution.
The position is considered a highly prestigious one. The president can play a decisive role during times of political instability by deciding which party can best form a federal government when general elections are inconclusive.
The president also holds the power to grant death-row pardons.
