The first time most of us heard of Droupadi Murmu was when she was appointed governor of Jharkhand, where by all accounts she impressed Prime Minister N D Modi with her dignified and measured six-year tenure in the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. So much so that Modi picked her as the National Democratic Alliance's Presidential candidate.
Fourteen days before her almost certain election as India's next Rashtrapati, Mrs Murmu returned to Ranchi as part of the get-to-know-me national tour which both she and her opponent in the July 18 Presidential poll Yashwant Sinha have undertaken since they were named the NDA and Opposition nominees for the Presidency.
IMAGE: Droupadi Murmu, who will be India's first tribal President, is accorded a tribal welcome at the Birsa Munda International Airport, July 4, 2022. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Mrs Murmu is showered by flowers on her arrival in Ranchi. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren greets Mrs Murmu. Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has declared its intention to support her candidature even though it is not part of the NDA. Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: A bouquet for Mrs Murmu from Chief Minister Soren. Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Part leaders greet Mrs Murmu on her arrival at Birsa Munda Airport. Photograph: ANI Photo
Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: Mrs Murmu met with Jharkhand's NDA MPs and MLAs. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Among those present at the felicitation ceremony for Mrs Murmu were former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda. Photograph: PTI Photo
Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: Mrs Murmu was also felicitated by the Risaldar Baba Dargah Committee. Photograph: ANI Photo
IMAGE: Mrs Murmu meets Jharkhand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren, as his son Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, left, and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, right, look on. Photograph: ANI Photo
Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
