Sena refuses blanket support to NDA
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its saffron ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, could not reach a consensus on the presidential elections and the candidates for the coveted post. BJP president Amit Shah held a close-door meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence on Sunday.
Sources said that Mr Thackeray has refused to extend a blanket support to the BJP candidate without knowing who it is. Mr Thackeray remained firm on two names for the President’s post — RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and scientist M.S. Swaminathan.
The closed-door meeting at Matoshree, Bandra (east), between the BJP and Sena leaders went on for an hour. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray were also present at the meeting.
Sources said that the two leaders spoke about the presidential election scheduled next month. The BJP is seeking opinions from all the political parties on the names of possible candidates for the President’s post.
Sources from the Sena said that Mr Shah sought support from the ally for the common presidential candidate. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would decide the name of the candidate. “Mr Thackeray insisted on knowing the name of the candidate. However, no name was revealed by the BJP. The Sena will not give a blanket support to BJP candidate,” the source said.
It may be recalled that the Sena had supported Congress candidate Pratibha Patil in the presidential election in 2007 and Pranab Mukherjee in 2012, going against BJP candidates then.