Shiv Sena supports Droupadi Murmu for presidential polls, says Sanjay Raut

|HT|

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday issued a caveat to his party's apparent support for Droupadi Murmu, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the presidential election on July 18. The decision is likely an attempt to contain the split in its legislative wing - a fallout of the Eknath Shinde-led rebellion. "We discussed Droupadi Murmu in our meeting yesterday. Supporting Droupadi Murmu does not mean supporting BJP," Raut said. He said the Sena's position would become clearer in 48 hours - after embattled party chief Uddhav Thackeray takes a call.

Reports indicate that when the Sena makes its support official, Droupadi Murmu may meet Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree, his Mumbai residence, when she visits the city on Thursday.

On ex union minister Yashwant Sinha - the joint opposition candidate - Raut said the Sena had a good relationship with the former BJP leader but would not act '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 said. A Sena functionary, on condition of anonymity,said that several MPs had yesterday asked Thackeray to back Droupadi Murmu. Reports suggest they wish to support Murmu to build bridges with Shinde and the BJP. Backing Sinha - who has been a staunch critic of the BJP - may create more difficulties for the Sena, political analysts said.

The presidential elections will be held on July 18 and counting will be held on July 21. The new president will have to take oath on July 25.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)