New Delhi: Droupadi Murmu, a tribal woman leader, is the Modi government's pick for presidential race. She is up against Yashwant Sinha, a former Union Minister, the joint opposition candidate for the July polls.
If elected, the 64-year-old will be the first tribal woman to become the President of India.
BJP parliamentary board discussed 20 names for presidential nominee, it was decided to pick someone from east India, a tribal and a woman, said BJP Chief JP Nadda.
Ms Murmu, a Santhal, was the first woman to be sworn in as the Jharkhand Governor in 2015.
A two-time BJP legislator from Odisha, Ms Murmu was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet when the Biju Janata Dal or BJD ruled the state with the support of the BJP.
She has diverse administrative experience having handled ministries such as transport, commerce, fisheries and animal husbandry in the Odisha government.
She started her political career as a councilor, later becoming the Vice-Chairperson of Rairangpur National Advisory Council or NAC.
In 2013, she rose to the rank of national executive member of the party's Scheduled Tribe Morcha in Odisha.
An arts graduate from Rama Devi Women's College - Bhubaneswar, she spent almost two decades in politics and social service.