Celebrations erupted across the town of Rairangpur in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district late on Tuesday, and continued till Wednesday, after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared Droupadi Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee for the July 18 Presidential election.
The small town with a population of just over 26,000 residents have been celebrating since the announcement. A sea of well wishers, including local BJP leaders and Murmu’s neighbours and family members, continued to arrive at Murmu’s residence, even as her younger brother, Taranisen Tudu, and sister-in-law, Sakramani Tudu, struggled to attend to visitors.
Murmu’s family members said that their phones have not stopped ringing since the announcement.
Recalling how Murmu was sent to Bhubaneswar for higher education by their father at the age of 12, Tudu said: “At the behest of Kartik Majhi, a minister and a distant uncle, she came to Bhubaneswar to enroll at the Unit-2 girls high school. After completing her higher secondary education, she went to Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar where she pursused a Bachelor of Arts. Here, she had to subsist on a monthly money order of 10 rupees which our father sent her. I remember she used to say that between 1974 and 1979, she was only able to watch one movie because of the lack of money. But the one thing that has always been close to her heart is women’s education.”
Murmu’s focus on education is what led her to start a residential high school in Gorumahisani area of Mayurbhanj 11 years ago, Tudu added.
{{/usCountry}}Murmu’s focus on education is what led her to start a residential high school in Gorumahisani area of Mayurbhanj 11 years ago, Tudu added.
{{/usCountry}}The school, named after her deceased husband Shyam Charan Murmu, admits students between classes 6 and 10.
Celebrations were also witnessed at the Arabinda Integral Education Centre of Rairangpur, where Murmu taught science, mathematics and social studies between 1994 and 1997.
“She (Murmu) was always diligent and always stressed on the education of girls as she herself had faced a lot of hurdles in her education due to lack of financial resources,” headmaster Manoranjan Kar said.
At her alma mater, Ramadevi Women’s college (now RD Women’s University), teachers recounted her simplicity when she visited them during the silver jubilee celebrations of the alumni association in 2017. “Though she was governor of Jharkhand then, she gave in to all protocol and hugged many of her friends. She reprimanded many of us when we addressed her as madam, saying she was their ‘didi’,” Aparajita Mohapatra, a professor of zoology at the university, said.
Rairangpur MLA Naba Charan Majhi said Murmu’s nomination was a proud moment for all in Odisha. “The feeling of having one of our own as President of the country is simply incredible,” Majhi said.
Union minister of state for tribal affairs and Santhali leader, Bishweswar Tudu, said Murmu’s nomination was a proud moment for Mayurbhanj as well as the entire tribe.
“The NDA has given priority to Mayurbhanj again. After my induction as a Union minister, selecting Murmu for the highest constitutional post of the country shows the priority of the NDA government. Girish Chandra Murmu from Mayurbhanj is now Comptroller and Auditor General of India. We all should cherish the great moment,” he said.
On Wednesday, Murmu began her day with an hour’s yoga session before visiting the local Jagannatha temple and sweeping the floor of a Shiva temple in the district. She later visit Jaher in Rairangpur, a sacred grove of Santhali tribals in the town.