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Presidential poll: BJP chief Amit Shah meets Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray
The Shiv Sena has put forth RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s name as its first preference as the presidential candidate. If the BJP doesn’t agree, the Shiv Sena urges party to consider agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.
Amid choppy relations between the two parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence in Mumbai on Sunday morning to build consensus on the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the presidential election next month.
The closed-door meeting at Matoshree lasted nearly an hour and a half. Besides Thackeray and Shah, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray were also present.
The Shiv Sena had earlier suggested Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s name as its first preference for President.
Thackeray urged the BJP to consider agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan for the post if it has any reservations about Bhagwat, Shiv Sena sources said.
Earlier in a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday evening, Shah had said the BJP was unfairly getting flak over next month’s presidential polls even when the party is trying to build an all-party consensus by taking into account everyone’s suggestions rather than declaring a candidate right at the outset.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena have been running an uneasy coalition in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena has been giving its ally grief by backing the recent farmers’ stir in the state for a loan waiver, taking to the streets to protest against its own government, joining the opposition in bitterly criticizing the government and issuing veiled threats of withdrawing support.
