Shiv Sena will support NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, party president Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday.
Thackeray said the Sena is announcing support to Murmu without any pressure. Nobody pressured me in the meeting of Sena MPs, he added.
"Tribal leaders of my party told me that this was the first time that a tribal woman is getting the chance to become the President, he said.
Actually, going by the present political atmosphere, I should not have backed her. But we are not narrow minded, he said. Sena MP Sanjay Raut said Shiv Sena had earlier backed UPA presidential nominees like Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee. The Sena has the tradition of going beyond politics. We believe in backing people in the national interest, he said.
After getting the support of some regional parties like BJD, YSR-CP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JDS, Shiromani Akali Dal and now Shiv Sena, the vote-share of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu has already crossed 60 per cent. It was around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
