Murmu ‘missed’ call before President nomination: book

Droupadi Murmu was not a frequent mobile phone user and probably “missed the most important call of her life” — that from the Prime Minister’s Office to inform her about her nomination as the official NDA candidate for the president’s post, claims a new book.

Droupadi Murmu was not a frequent mobile phone user and probably "missed the most important call of her life" — that from the Prime Minister's Office to inform her about her nomination as the official NDA candidate for the president's post, claims a new book.

But her former officer on special duty in Jharkhand, Bikash Chandra Mohanto, came running to Ms. Murmu's house with his phone in hand, saying he had received a call apparently from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and was asked to connect with her.

This incident of June 21, 2022, finds mention in the biographical work "Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina Hill" by journalist Kasturi Ray, published recently by Rupa.

Through interviews and analysis, Ms. Ray tracks Ms. Murmu's life, following her through school and college, from being a teacher to social worker, councillor to minister, from taking charge as the governor of Jharkhand to becoming India's first tribal president.

On that day in June last year, Ms. Murmu was in Odisha's Rairangpur, 14 km from her native village Uparbeda and nearly 275 km from capital Bhubaneswar. The BJP was to announce the NDA's presidential candidate. All were waiting for an official announcement.

"Unfortunately, Murmu and her family were not able to watch the news because of a power cut. Yet the indications were apparent. The sense of serendipity was palpable," the book says.

A little later, television channels started broadcasting the news.