Leaders of the AIADMK, PMK, DMDK, and the TMC called on Draupadi Murmu and extended their support on her arrival at a hotel in Chennai.
Published Jul 03, 2022 | 12:38 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 23, 2022 | 11:19 AM
BJP Tamil Nadu leaders and other opposition leaders with Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu. (South First/ Umar Sharieef)
Leaders of the AIADMK, PMK, DMDK, and the TMC on Saturday, 2 July, announced their support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu.
The development comes after Murmu met elected representatives of the AIADMK-led alliance partners in Tamil Nadu and AINRC-led alliance partners in Puducherry to drum up support for her candidature.
AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami was present at the event, along with 63 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA).
Targeting the current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin, for not supporting Murmu, Palaniswami said the DMK leader “boasts about social justice and the Dravadian model, but fails to support the tribal presidential candidate.”
O Panneerselvam (OPS), the treasurer of the AIADMK, extended his support to Murmu after a separate meeting with the NDA presidential candidate.
“Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, if she had been alive, would have felt so proud to see a tribal woman being picked up by NDA for contesting the presidential elections,” OPS told reporters after extending his support to Murmu.
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss confirmed his party’s support for Murmu and said, “The PMK was the first party to support Murmu. She will definitely win the elections.”
Murmu also held a meeting with BJP and coalition-party candidates in the Union Territory of Puducherry to garner support for the upcoming presidential elections.
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy, with his legislators and AIADMK party leaders, gave her a warm welcome at the Lawspet Airport.
Draupadi Murmu is a tribal leader from Odisha and the former governor of Jharkhand. She held the office between 2015 and 2021.
The NDA on 21 June announced her as its presidential candidate.
She is contesting for the highest position in the country against former Union minister Yashwant Sinha.
Presidential elections are scheduled for 18 July, and if Murmu is elected, she will be the country’s second woman president, and the first tribal to hold the post.
