Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, and chief ministers of four party-ruled states submitted four sets of documents on her behalf with more than 60 proposers and seconders each (minimum requirement is 50 proposers and 50 seconders) in each set, Rajya Sabha secretariat insiders told ET.
Rajya Sabha secretary general PC Mody is the returning officer for the President’s election.
Parliamentarians of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Janata Dal (United), AIADMK and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP, chief ministers of some Northeast states and Bihar deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad were among those who accompanied Murmu during the filing of her nomination papers.
The first set of nomination papers had the prime minister as the proposer and defence minister Rajnath Singh as seconder along with home minister Amit Shah and others as signatories; the second set has Nadda and chief ministers of various BJP-ruled states as proposers and seconders; the third set was signed by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jairam Thakur and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar along with legislators of the two states; the fourth was signed by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and legislators of the state Vidhan Sabha.
Earlier, Murmu called up Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP head Sharad Pawar and West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee to seek their parties’ support for her candidature, people aware of the matter said. Banerjee gave her best wishes to Murmu, they said.
Though a contest is certain with joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha likely to file his nomination papers on Monday, Nadda reached out to opposition parties to seek their support and elect Murmu unanimously. He made an appeal to Sonia Gandhi, JDS Chief Deve Gowda, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah (who was himself one of the choices of the opposition), Sharad Pawar, and DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, BJP insiders said.
With numbers heavily stacked in NDA’s favour, Murmu is likely to become the first tribal and second lady to become the President of India. Along with the NDA partners, she has the support of BJD and YSRCP. From the non-NDA camp, she is likely to get the backing of JMM, JDS and some other parties.
Scheduled tribe MPs cutting across party lines and regions are expected to vote for her.
Shiv Sena rebel MLAs holed up in Assam are also likely to vote for Murmu.
Dressed in white, the former Jharkhand governor reached the parliament house around 11:45 am. Murmu garlanded a statue of Birsa Munda in the parliament complex to pay her respects to the tribal icon. She and other NDA leaders then gathered in the parliament library building and walked in around 12:30 pm along with the prime minister to complete the nomination formalities.
The 64-year-old leader will begin an all-India campaign of visiting state capitals to seek support of legislators sometime next week.
BJP has formed a 14-member management team headed by Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat to handle Murmu’s campaign.
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