MUMBAI: A day after 12 out of Shiv Sena’s 19 Lok Sabha MPs demanded the party support Droupadi Murmu for the presidential poll, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced his support for the BJP-led NDA nominee. He claimed there was “no truth” to reports about pressure from his MPs and said he took the decision because Murmu was a tribal woman and Sena’s members from the tribal community had “requested” him to back her. Interestingly, Uddhav’s move comes amid speculation that a section of these MPs could split and join CM Eknath Shinde’s faction.
However, his decision appeared to open up a rift in MVA as NCP chief Sharad Pawar was among those who took the lead in putting up Yashwant Sinha as opposition candidate and Sena’s Subhas Desai had, at an opposition meeting, extended support to the former BJP minister.
