This Article is From Jul 21, 2022

As Droupadi Murmu Wins Presidential Election, BJP Hosts 'Abhinandan Yatra' In Delhi

An 'Abhinandan Yatra' was taken out from its Delhi unit office at 14, Pant Marg, as scores of men and women from the party cadres marched to the Rajpath.

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India News
New Delhi:

Waving tricolours and jubilating to the sound of 'dhol-nagadas', a large number of BJP supporters flooded the streets in the heart of Delhi, as the NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday emerged victorious in the keenly-watched poll over her rival Yashwant Sinha.

An 'Abhinandan Yatra' was taken out from its Delhi unit office at 14, Pant Marg, as scores of men and women from the party cadres marched to the Rajpath, with some chanting slogans and raising placards bearing images of Ms Murmu and the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Ms Murmu scripted history by becoming India's first tribal President in the one-sided contest, defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.

Ms Murmu, 64, won by an overwhelming margin against Sinha after receiving over 64 per cent valid votes in a day-long counting of ballots of MPs and MLAs, comprising the electoral college, to succeed Ram Nath Kovid to become the country's 15th president.

As the Yatra began from the Delhi BJP headquarters, many party workers waving national flags and holding tricolour-themed balloons, walked with unbridled enthusiasm, while others celebrated by distributing ladoos.  

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Senior BJP leader and Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, other party leaders Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Harsh Vardhan and others also took part in the 'Abhinandan Yatra' riding a vehicle and waving at the swarms of crowd to the beating of 'dhols' 'nagadas.  

The road show was escorted by the police to ensure flow of traffic and proper law and order situation, officials said.

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BJP president J P Nadda was slated to attend the event, but he was not present on the occasion, they said.

The marching crowd moved from Pant Marg to Ashoka Road, then to Patel Chowk, turning then to Rafi Marg and passing by the Constitution Club of India and the Rail Bhawan reached Vijay Chowk, a police official said, adding, the permission to hold the 'Yatra', was only till Vijay Chowk.

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The historic public square of the Raj-era faces the iconic Raisina Hill complex, seat of the iconic Rastrapati Bhavan -- the official residence of President of India -- flanked by the North Block and South Block.  Many groups of supporters, representing various BJP-ruled states of Northeast, had members wearing their traditional tribal attire.

Romeo, part of the group representing Manipur, and who is currently pursuing his higher studies here, said, "We are here to welcome the leaders who are part of the roadshow. This is being done to express our gratitude towards the next President who will be the first from the tribal community."  Another group represented Sikkim in their traditional attire.

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"This is our way to convey our sentiments as she will be the first tribal President of India," said Priyanka Chakma, member of BJP Northeast Morcha.

At times, the 'Yatra' stalled the traffic and many streets in Lutyens' Delhi were clogged as vehicular traffic crawled at a snail's pace.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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