NEW DELHI: NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday scripted history to become the first tribal leader to be elected as the President of India.
Murmu on Thursday crossed the 50 per cent mark after the third round of counting to emerge victorious in the poll over her rival Yashwant Sinha. Murmu got 5,77,777 votes after third round of counting against Yashwant Sinha‘s 2,61,062 votes.
She will be an outstanding President, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the residence of Droupadi Murmu to congratulate her as she took an unbeatable lead over opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha.
“India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President! Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat,” PM Modi said on Twitter.
“Droupadi Murmu Ji’s life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden,” he added.
Hopes she functions as custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour, says opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha conceded defeat after third round of counting and congratulated Droupadi Murmu on her victory.
“I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Smt Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour,” Yashwant Sinha said on Twitter.

In a statement, Sinha thanked the leaders of the Opposition parties for choosing him as their consensus candidate in this election.
“I also thank all members of the Electoral College who voted for me. I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga preached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita – ‘Do your duty without expectation of the fruits thereof’,” Sinha said.

How each round took Droupadi Murmu closer to Rashtrapati Bhavan
Votes cast by MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were the first to be counted, in Round 1. Murmu polled 540 of the 748 votes of the MPs, while Yashwant Sinha bagged 208 votes.
Votes of MLAs from 10 states were counted in the second round. While Murmu received votes of 809 MLAs out of a total of 1138 MLAs in 10 states, with a vote count of 1,05,299, 329 MLAs with vote count of 44,276 voted for Sinha, in the second round.
The third round took Droupadi Murmu past the 50% mark and sealed her victory in the presidential election. She received the votes from 812 MLAs, against Sinha’s 521.