Mounting pressure on the BJP, the Shiv Sena on Thursday said it might take an independent stand on the Presidential elections.
However, it reiterated the candidature of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the country’s next President. “We may take an independent stand over casting our vote in the Presidential election,” Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, adding that Bhagwat was capable for fulfilling the dream of Hindu Rashtra.
Going against the NDA view, the Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray had supported Congress nominees —Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee — in the Presidential elections in 2002 and 2012. While Pratibha got the support on the ground that she was a Maharashtrian, Mukherjee had personal relations with the Thackeray family.
Of the 48 MPs, the Shiv Sena has 18 MPs. As far as the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is concerned, it has 63 MLAs, and in the Council, it has nine members. The support of Shiv Sena would be crucial for the NDA candidate to register an easy victory.
Given the relations of the Shiv Sena-BJP, it would take some time for things to settle.
DH News Service
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