Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena set to back NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu
The Shiv Sena core committee led by Uddhav Thackeray may back NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in the upcoming presidential elections, partry spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, adding that any such decision should not imply that the Uddhav faction of the party is realigning with their former ally BJP. The official stand of the Uddhav faction on this issue will be revealed over the next two days, Raut told news agency ANI.
The development comes a day after the former Maharashtra Chief Minister convened a party meeting at his Mumbai residence, with reports claiming that many MPs present there had urged Thackeray to support Murmu for the upcoming July 18 Presidential elections and consider patching up with the BJP.
Murmu is slated to visit Thackeray’s residence on Thursday. The party is slated to make its stand public following Murmu’s visit, media reports suggest.
Claiming that the party shares a good rapport with opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha, Raut said that no decision will be taken under pressure. “(The) opposition should remain alive. We also have goodwill towards Yashwant Sinha. Earlier, we supported Pratibha Patil (who was) not the NDA candidate. We supported Pranab Mukherjee also. Shiv Sena does not take decisions under pressure,” Raut told ANI.
According to The Indian Express, at least eight out of the 15 MPs present at Thackeray’s meeting wanted the Uddhav faction of the Shiv Sena to extend its support to Murmu. The proposal is believed to have received a positive response from Thackeray.
“Many of us requested a patch-up with BJP and Shinde as we had a natural alliance with the BJP and it’s our ideological ally. He (Thackeray) did not comment on it but said it will be considered,” a senior member from the Uddhav faction told IE.
Before Uddhav Thackeray’s government collapsed last month, the party had attended both the Opposition meetings convened by Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, respectively, in order to choose a common candidate from the opposition camp for the upcoming presidential polls.