Droupadi Murmu takes oath as 15th President today: Know why last 10 Presidents have taken oath on July 25

Droupadi Murmu will take oath as the 15th President of India today, thereby succeeding President Ram Nath Kovind, whose term in office concluded on July 24. Interestingly, Murmu will become the 10th successive president to take oath on July 25 since 1977.

Records show that since 1977, successive presidents have taken oath on July 25. India’s first President Rajendra Prasad took oath on January 26, 1950 — the day India became a Republic.

In 1952, he went on to win the first presidential poll. He won the second presidential election and was in office till May 1962.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan took oath as the president on May 13, 1962 and was in office till May 13, 1967.

Two presidents — Zakir Husain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed — could not complete their tenures as they died in harness.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the sixth president of India, took oath on July 25, 1977. Since then successive presidents including Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma, K R Narayanan, A P J Abdul Kalam, Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind have taken oath on July 25.

Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha and former Jharkhand Governor, is not only the first tribal to occupy the top constitutional post of the country but is also only the second woman President of India. At 64, Murmu will also be the youngest President of India.