Ahead of the presidential election to be held today, West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put up posters across Bengal which describe Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as an “anti-tribal community”.
The posters also show National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murmu belongs to the tribal community. The posters put up by the BJP show Mamata holding hands during a dance by members of the tribal community who are wearing gloves. BJP leaders had accused the CM of insisting that ‘Janajatiya’ women wear gloves in an event in Alipurduar district “so that she could hold their hand and pose for a picture”.
Trinamool Congress and several other opposition parties have fielded former union minister Yashwant Sinha as their presidential candidate. West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar has urged the TMC MPs and MLAs to vote in favour of Murmu.
Various parties have extended their support to the NDA candidate including Congress ally Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), and RJD ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav has also extended his support to Murmu.
She is a former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister. If elected, Murmu will be the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President. Born in a poor tribal family in Mayurbhanj village, a backward district in Odisha, she completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. Murmu is the first presidential candidate from Odisha of a major political party or alliance. The counting of votes for the presidential election will take place on 21 July.
