New Delhi: Former Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu this morning filed her nomination for the Presidential election as a candidate for the ruling NDA coalition.

She filed her papers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J.P. Nadda and several other BJP leaders. PM Modi handed over Murmu’s nomination papers to Returning Officer P.C. Mody.

After filing her papers, Murmu sought support for her candidature by Opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee. The election of the Office of the President of India is scheduled for July 18 and the counting of votes, if needed, will be done on July 21.

A day before filing her nomination, Murmu had met PM Modi, Shah, Singh and Nadda in the national capital.

In a brief statement to the media on the same day, Murmu had said, “I thank all and seek cooperation from everyone for the Presidential election. I will meet all voters (lawmakers) and seek their support before July 18.”

From the Santhal community in Odisha, the 64-year-old was named the Presidential nominee of the BJP-led NDA on Tuesday night, hours after former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha was declared the joint nominee of major Opposition parties including the Congress, TMC and NCP.

Murmu’s election is almost certain given that the numbers are heavily stacked in favour of the ruling NDA. Her candidature, announced by Nadda following a meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Board, appeared to have put some of the Opposition parties in a spot, especially the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which draws its electoral strength from tribal votes.