UPARBEDA, India —Many people in the remote eastern village of Uparbeda still cook on firewood. Water is drawn from municipal hand pumps. And the electricity had yet to reach Churamuni Tudu’s house – until last month.
That was when her sister-in-law, Droupadi Murmu, suddenly became the likely next president of India. Soon, news outlets reported that some people in this village where Mrs. Murmu grew up were still living without electricity. And soon after, workers were sent to hook up Mrs. Tudu and other residents.
“Now I no longer have to walk half an hour to an acquaintance to charge my mobile,” says Ms. Tudu, who posed for a photo by the newly installed meter on the wall of her porch. “My grandchildren can read in the evenings when they come to visit me.”
India’s presidency is largely ceremonial. But when Mrs. Murmu, who was declared at the post by lawmakers on Thursday, will be sworn in next week, that will have meaning far beyond Uparbeda.
In addition to being only India’s second female president, Ms. Murmu, who was until recently the governor of Jharkhand state, will be the first of the country’s indigenous tribal communities, an economically marginalized population comprising nearly 10 percent of India’s population. population.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party, or BJP, which along with her allies nominated Ms. Murmu for president last month, says its newfound fame will draw attention to the needs of the hundreds of officially recognized tribes in India, of which many members are alive. in remote, impoverished villages such as Uparbeda.
“Since independence, none of this diverse tribal community had found representation at this level,” said Samir Mohanty, the BJP president for Odisha State, which also includes Uparbeda.
Others see the party’s choice of Ms Murmu as a calculated game for voting. The BJP, a Hindu nationalist party, has been trying for years to get through to tribal voters in states like Odisha, where they make up nearly a quarter of the population.
“For the past eight to ten years, the new packaging of the BJP has been going on, that it is a party of the lower castes, the marginalized and the tribals, an idea they want to promote,” said Harish Wankhede, a professor at political studies at Jawahar Lal Nehru University in Delhi, which specializes in identity politics.
Ms. Murmu, 64, is a member of one of India’s oldest and largest tribes, the Santhals, who are famous for a revolt against British rule in the 1850s. She was born to a rice farmer who was a member of the Uparbeda village council; as a child she walked a mile to school every day and studied by a kerosene lamp at night.
Starting out as a teacher, she soon entered local politics, joining the BJP and eventually serving in the Odisha state legislature. In 2015, the party nominated her for governor of Jharkhand, a neighboring state that also has a significant tribal population. She held the office until last year.
Ms. Murmu has a reputation for being gentle and humble. She told an interviewer in 2016 that she originally had no intention of seeking public office.
“At the time, politics was not looked at with a good point of view,” she said. “Especially for women. Because the society I belong to, they think women should not get into politics.”
As the 15th President of India, Ms. Murmu will essentially be a figurehead. India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, once said the presidency was designed to carry “great authority and dignity”, but not “real power”. But over the years, presidents have used their influence to resolve various political crises and have criticized governments for policies they disapproved of.
Political analysts say it is a way for the BJP to give Ms. Murmu the presidency to increase her appeal to women and to send the broader message that she cares about the underprivileged. But they say it’s also part of an effort to make a profit in states with large indigenous populations. Tribal and lower caste voters tend to support the Congress party, now in opposition, or regional parties with strong local leaders.
Salkhan Murmu, a former BJP legislator and community activist, said Ms Murmu’s rise was a “huge, huge deal” for Santhals and other tribes. Mr Murmu, who is not related to the new president, has lobbied for the formal recognition of tribal religious practices in India’s census.
“BJP wants to expand its political base and we want recognition of our culture and tradition,” he said. “Let them win politically, and let us win culturally and traditionally, so we can keep our different languages and way of life alive.”
The drive to Uparbeda from Odisha’s capital, Bhubaneswar, takes nearly eight hours, winding through lush green forests, farmlands and forest reserves, even on designated elephant trails. Finally, it opens up to a picturesque landscape of rice paddies, with mountains looming in the background.
Kilometers before the village people enthusiastically pointed the way there. Ms Murmu’s appointment was big news in the area. In Uparbeda, villagers formed a circle around trees they considered sacred and prayed for her victory.
“We are getting ready to dance to the beat of the drums,” Ms Murmu’s cousin Bhakta Bandhu Tudu said by phone on Thursday before the lawmakers’ votes were counted.
On a recent afternoon, Uparbeda men huddled in the ankle-deep water tending their paddy fields. Women rode bicycles to the local market. The village, with about 1,600 inhabitants, has three schools and a primary health center. For more serious conditions, people travel to the nearest town, 20 miles away.
Mrs. Tudu, a widow whose husband is Mrs. Murmu was, grows rice in a small field and gets her water from the community pump. She said it was “liberating” to have electricity in her house, although some rooms had yet to be hooked up.
Ms. Tudu was delighted with her sister-in-law’s ascent. “It fills my heart with joy,” she said. A cousin sitting nearby, Heera Murmu, was more pragmatic.
“On our wish list are clean tap water, a hospital and a better school for our new president’s children,” she said.
