President Solih congratulates India’s president-elect Murmu

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has congratulated Droupadi Murmu on her election as the new president of India.

Murmu, 64, is set to be the fifteenth president of India and will be the second-ever woman to hold the position. Moreover, she hails from a minority ethnic community – making her the first president from one of the country’s tribes  

In a congratulatory tweet, President Solih congratulated her on her historic election.

“Her capability and experience will no doubt lead India to greater heights. I look forward to enhancing the close relations between Maldives and India under her leadership,” he added.

Murmu, a leader from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected by the Indian Parliament and state legislatures in a voting held on last Monday, She won the election with 64.03 percent of the total votes.

She is from the eastern state of Odisha and was governor of Jharkhand state from 2015 to 2021, is a member of the Santal ethnic minority, one of India’s largest tribal groups. She started out as a school teacher before entering politics and has been a two-time lawmaker representing BJP.

Murmu will be sworn in as the president on Monday, July 25.