Draupadi Murmu takes Oath as 9th Jharkhand Governor

Bhubaneswar/Ranchi, May 18: Draupadi Murmu, former Odisha minister and BJP MLA, takes oath as Governor of Jharkhand today morning. She is the first woman leader from the state to be appointed as Governor.

In a swearing-in-ceremony at Birsa Mandap at Raj Bhawan, she was administered with oath and secrecy by Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court Justice Virendra Singh.

58-year old tribal leader, Draupadi Murmu became the ninth Governor of Jharkhand state. She replaced Dr Syed Ahmed, who appointed as Governor of Manipur. The BJP leader was elected twice from the Rairanpur Assembly Constituency. Murmu flew to Ranchi from Rairangpur today morning on a special helicopter.

Chief Minister Ragjubar Das and others were among those present at the ceremony.

Born on June 20, 1958, Murmu was first elected in 2000 on a BJP ticket from Rairangpur in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. She was re-elected in 2005 after which she was elevated to the cabinet and given charge of transport and commercial taxes.

Murmu graduated from R.B. Womens College Bhubneshwar in 1979. She also worked as a clerk in the state secretariat for some years before joining politics.

She was also the vice-president of Rairangpur Notified Area Council from 1996-98. She was made the BJP district president of Mayurbhanj in May 2013.

(With inputs from IANS)