The Centre has accorded a Z+ security cover of CRPF commandos to the NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, officials said on Wednesday.
The armed squad took over the security of Murmu, 64, early Wednesday morning, a senior officer told reporters.
BJP president J P Nadda announced the candidature of Murmu, a party leader from Odisha who served as Jharkhand governor, at a press conference on Monday night following a meeting of the party's parliamentary board, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.
The 64-year-old Murmu will be the first tribal woman to be the President of India if she is elected, a strong possibility as numbers are stacked in the favour of the BJP-led NDA.
Expressing confidence that Murmu will be a "great president", Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet said she has "rich administrative experience and had an outstanding gubernatorial tenure".
Officials said soon after this announcement, the Union home ministry directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to deploy its VIP security protection team to take charge of Murmu's security.
