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Sena to support Droupadi Murmu for President: Uddhav Thackeray
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced his support for Droupadi Murmu, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the presidential election slated for July 18.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced his support for Droupadi Murmu, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the presidential election slated for July 18 — a decision that signals a virtual end to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) days after a coup within his party led to rebel leader Eknath Shinde replacing him as Maharashtra chief minister.
While the Sena has in the past deviated from alliance partners — in this case the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress — to support its own choice of presidential candidate, this is the first time in the party’s 56-year history that the leadership’s hand has been forced into taking such a decision by its elected representatives.
The NCP and the Congress are backing former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition’s presidential candidate.
On Monday, 11 out of the 13 members of Parliament (MPs) from Sena who attended a meeting called by Thackeray pitched for a rapprochement between the party and the rebel faction led by Shinde. Supporting Murmu would be part of this effort, people aware of the matter said.
At a press briefing at the party headquarters on Tuesday, Thackeray said he chose to support the NDA candidate as she was the first Scheduled Tribe (ST) woman to be nominated for the country’s top post, and that he chose to heed the Sena MPs’ insistence that arose out of their “love”.
“There is no truth in reports that this is due to pressure tactics from our MPs. But many activists from the Shiv Sena who work among the tribals… said this was the first time that a tribal woman was being pitched for the highest constitutional position. I thought if everyone is insisting out of love, we must respect this sentiment. The Shiv Sena will support Droupadi-ji (Murmu) in the presidential poll,” Thackeray said.
In the past, too, the party had risen above party considerations in backing presidential candidates, Thackeray said. “Going by the present political atmosphere, I should not have backed her (Murmu) because she is a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But I am not so small-minded,” he said.
Murmu, who is currently touring various states seeking support for her candidature, will now likely meet Thackeray at his residence, Matoshree, when she visits Mumbai on Thursday.
The Sena has 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha, including 18 from Maharashtra and one from the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as well as three in the Rajya Sabha. On Monday, six Lok Sabha MPs, including chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant, did not turn up for meeting with Thackeray. Four of them gave reasons for not attending the meeting. The fifth, Bhavana Gawali, supports the Shinde faction.
NCP state president Jayant Patil said that the Sena’s decision to support Murmu did not mean that it supported the NDA.
“Shiv Sena has its own stand when it comes to presidential polls. In the past, the party has supported Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil as well. In Murmu’s case, she comes from a tribal community and thus Sena has decided to support her. We believe that Sena’s support to Murmu’s candidature does not mean it supports NDA.”
However, the leader of the Congress legislature party, Balasaheb Thorat, was unambiguous when he said the presidential poll was a “battle of ideologies” and a “struggle to protect the constitution and democracy.”
“The Shiv Sena is a separate political party, and they are entitled to their own positions. But the Shiv Sena’s position is beyond comprehension at a time when… undemocratic means were used to topple the state government and challenge the Shiv Sena’s very existence,” Thorat said and added that the Congress was not consulted before the announcement.
The BJP welcomed Thackeray’s announcement. “They have listened to the voice of the people, but should have heeded it earlier and not tied up with the Congress and NCP,” said Keshav Upadhye, the BJP’s chief spokesperson in the state.
(With inputs from Faisal Malik)
