Tribal candidate wins Indian presidential election

A woman from India's tribal minority, Droupadi Murmu, was elected as the country's president with the backing of the ruling party, making her the first person from the marginalised community to occupy the top post.

Murmu, who is from the Santhal tribe, secured the largely ceremonial position with the support of more than half the electorate of MPs and state legislators, partial results released by the election commission showed.

Murmu, 64, was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the post. 

Modi tweeted to congratulate Murmu, saying her "exemplary success motivates each and every Indian". 

"She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden."

"India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour," Sinha wrote.

Murmu will be the country's second woman president after Pratibha Patil, who held the position for five years from 2007, and succeeds Ram Nath Kovind, the second president from the Dalit community, the bottom of the Hindu caste system.

Born in Mayurbhanj district in the eastern state of Odisha, the president-elect began her career as a schoolteacher before joining politics. 

"As a tribal woman from remote Mayurbhanj district, I had not thought about becoming the candidate for the top post," she told reporters soon after her nomination this month.