India’s parliament began voting on Monday for the country’s new president, with a female politician from a marginalized tribal community being given the favourite.
Droupadi Murmu, from the Santhal tribe, was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party for the ceremonial post.
If elected, he will be the first president of the tribe and the second president of India.
As for the outgoing president, Ram Nath Kovind, he is the country’s second president from the Dalit community, lowest in the caste system, also called “the untouchables”.
Ms Murmu, 64, started her career as a primary school teacher in the eastern state of Odisha before entering politics. He has held ministerial positions in the state government and served as governor of Jharkhand (eastern) state.
He “has dedicated his life to serving society and empowering the poor, oppressed and marginalized,” Modi wrote on Twitter after his candidacy was announced.
His main opponent, Yashwant Sinha, 84, a former BJP member and former finance and foreign minister, is supported by opposition parties, including Congress.
He is now a staunch critic of Mr Modi’s government.
“This year’s election is not a contest between two individuals but between two ideologies,” he said on Twitter. “Only one side wants to protect the terms and values enshrined in our Constitution.”
India’s president is elected for a five-year term by nearly 5,000 elected members from both houses of parliament and the country’s regional legislatures.
Each vote is weighted according to the size of the constituency, and candidates are ranked by preference.
If no candidate has more than 50% support, the candidate with the lowest score will be eliminated and the votes will be redistributed until that candidate stands out with an absolute majority.
The results of the election will be announced this weekend.
India’s prime minister holds executive power, but the president can return some bills from parliament for reconsideration.
The president also plays a role in the process of forming a government.
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