Shiv Sena to support NDA presidential pick Droupadi Murmu: Uddhav Thackeray

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said his party will support NDA-backed Droupadi Murmu for the July 18 presidential elections.
On Monday, a majority of Shiv Sena Lok Sabha members said they will support Murmu over the opposition-backed candidate Yashwant Sinha at a meeting to discuss the party's stand on the presidential polls.
It is learned that the MPs hinted to ex-CM Thackeray that once Sena formally backs Murmu, some doors may reopen for a patch-up with the Eknath Shinde camp and BJP. Twelve out of the party's 19 MPs had attended the meeting.
Uddhav's decision to support NDA's Murmu comes at a time when Shiv Sena is facing a political turmoil in Maharashtra after most of its MLAs defected to the Eknath Shinde-led rebel faction, which has formed the government in alliance with BJP.
Earlier, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had hinted that the party may support Murmu in the upcoming elections, but added that supporting her does not mean supporting BJP.
Raut said that in the past too, the Sena had backed presidential candidates from the UPA, like Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee even though the Sena was with the NDA then.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that a section of Sena MPs could split and join the Shinde faction, just like 40 out of 55 Sena MLAs have done already.
The voting for the presidential election will take place on July 18 and the counting of votes will take place on July 21.
Droupadi Murmu is the former governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister.
If elected, she will be the first tribal President of India and the country's second female President.
(With inputs from agencies)