JMM announces support to Droupadi Murmu in upcoming presidential poll

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren on Thursday said his party will support NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu in the July 18 election, ending weeks of suspense. It is for the first time that a tribal woman has got an opportunity to become President of India, he said.

Soren directed all MPs and MLAs of the JMM to vote for Murmu on July 18, the date for the Presidential elections.

Murmu, the former Jharkhand governor, had recently visited the state to seek support for her candidature.


She met the JMM chief and its executive president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

JMM which is allied to the Congress has 30 MLAs in the state legislature. While Murmu's victory is ensured even without the Jharkhand-based party's support, the decision by the JMM chief is a shot in the arms for the NDA candidate.

Yashwant Sinha, the oppositions candidate incidentally is also from Jharkhand and the dilemma faced by the party was to pick between 'a son of the soil' and a 'fellow tribal', said analysts. PTI NAM BDC JRC JRC