Droupadi Murmu elected 15th President of India

Droupadi Murmu has been elected the 15th President of India on Thursday. She is the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President.

Soon after being elected as the head of the state, Murmu took to Twitter to express her gratitude to her colleagues for choosing her as the presidential candidate.

She wrote: "Elated by all of the support from my all political colleagues Ministers, MP's and MLA's from all -around India for choosing me to serve as the 15th President in the world's largest democratic country Mother India."

The 64-year-old veteran politician vowed to work for the development of her tribal community, "When I was Nominated as NDA'S presidential candidate from that day I took oath in my mind that If I become President, first of all I will work for more development of my tribal and adivasi brothers and sisters of Whole India & Odisha. Now that time has came I will keep my promise."

She continued to write: I bow head towards Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath for the blessings and everything I achieved till date, I thank my every Citizen of mother India and to all of You, I cannot express my feeling right now!"

"India scripts history," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter. "A daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!"

The counting

The NDA's choice, scooped up over 50 per cent of the total vote value after three rounds of counting. Opposition's Yashwant Sinha is far behind.

The counting took place at the Parliament House in New Delhi and the result was declared immediately after the counting.

The voting took place on Monday, July 18, and was completed in a peaceful manner. The voting ended at 5pm at the Parliament House, as well as at designated places in the capitals of all states, and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Delhi.

A seasoned politicia

Droupadi Murmu is a seasoned politician from Odisha coupled with an extensive background in the field of academics.

Born in a poor tribal family in a village of Mayurbhanj, a district in Odisha, Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. She taught at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur.

She started her political career as Rairangpur NAC vice-chairman. She was a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Rairangpur between 2000 and 2004. As a minister, she held portfolios of Transport and Commerce, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. She again served as MLA in the Odisha assembly from 2004 to 2009.

• Watch: PM Modi casts his vote for next president of India