Shiv Sena to support Murmu, rules out pressure for the decision

The candidate of the BJP-dominated NDA, Droupadi Murmu, will receive backing from the Shiv Sena, which is led by Uddhav Thackeray, in the July 18 presidential elections, NDTV reported.

The choice was made one day after sixteen of the party’s 22 MPs urged Mr. Thackeray to endorse her “since she is a woman from a tribal community.”

On the surface, Mr. Thackeray seems to have bowed to internal pressure because his Sena is already weakened due to Eknath Shinde’s breakaway last month, which allowed him to succeed as Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the backing of the BJP.
However, Ms. Murmu’s tribal heritage is a consideration, which Mr. Thackeray latched upon.

Ruling out that he was pressurized to make this decision Thackeray said, “Tribal leaders of my party told me that this is the first time a tribal woman has a chance to become President of India,” insisting that, “Nobody pressured me in the meeting of Sena MPs.”

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