Lawmakers in India elects first president from indigenous community

Indian lawmakers have elected the country’s first president from an indigenous community.

Officials declared on Thursday that Droupadi Murmu had won the presidential election by defeating a candidate fielded by opposition parties. About 4,800 federal and state lawmakers voted on Monday, and the votes were counted on Thursday.

Murmu was backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She will be India’s second female president after Pratibha Patil, who was elected in 2007.

Murmu, who is 64 years old, is a former governor of Jharkhand State. She is from an indigenous tribe in the state of Odisha.

The Indian presidency has a largely ceremonial role.

The ruling party backed Murmu with the apparent aim of gaining support from female voters and people in the eastern regions where there are many indigenous tribes, ahead of the general election in 2024.