Droupadi joined the Brahmakumaris to regain her spiritual and mental balance and then started social work to become a councillor in Rairangpur Notified Area Council. She was later elected MLA and in the same year, she became a minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet.
Born in the Santhal community, Murmu began her political career as a councillor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a minister in the Odisha government in 2000.