Mumbai: Shiv Sena MPs, who had attended a meeting called by party chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on presidential elections, have demanded that the party should support National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Party MP Gajanan Kirtikar said 16 of 18 party MPs were present in the meeting and added that Uddhav Thackeray will convey his decision in a day or two. "She is an NDA candidate but Droupadi Murmu belongs to the tribal community and is a woman. We should give her our support - this was the demand by all MPs (of the party). Uddhav ji told us that he will tell us his decision in a day or two," Kirtikar said.
"We had supported Pratibha Patil, a UPA candidate, as she's a Marathi woman. We had supported Pranab Mukherjee, a UPA candidate. Uddhavji will announce support to her (Droupadi Murmu) as she's a tribal woman. We should see beyond politics for the Presidential election," he added.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut clarified on Tuesday that Shiv Sena's decision to support Murmu as the Presidential candidate does not mean that the Sena is hand in gloves with the BJP. "We discussed Droupadi Murmu in our meeting yesterday. Supporting Droupadi Murmu does not mean supporting BJP. Shiv Sena's role will be clear in a day or two; our party chief Uddhav Thackeray will make a decision," Raut said.
