Presidential polls: Sena's 16 MPs urge Uddhav Thackeray to back NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu

Sixteen MPs of Shiv Sena, who attended a meeting called by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai urged him to support NDA's candidate Draupadi Murmu in the Presedential polls next week.

Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar after the meeting said that all 16 MPs agreed that Draupadi Murmu "is a tribal woman and thats why they should vote for her". 

"She is an NDA candidate but Draupadi Murmu belongs to the tribal community and is a woman. We should give her our support. This was the demand by all MPs (of the party). Uddhav ji told us that he will tell us his decision in a day or two," Kirtikar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

She is an NDA candidate but Droupadi Murmu belongs to the tribal community and is a woman. We should give her our support - this was the demand by all MPs (of the party). Uddhav ji told us that he will tell us his decision in a day or two: Gajanan Kirtikar, Shiv Sena MP pic.twitter.com/PRpEAE2HkJ

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2022

"We had supported Pratibha Patil, a UPA candidate, as she's a Marathi woman. We had supported Pranab Mukherjee, a UPA candidate. Uddhav ji will announce support to her(Droupadi Murmu)as she's a tribal woman. We should see beyond politics for Presidential election," he added. 

"Out of 18 MPs, two were absent - Bhavana Gawali and Shrikant Shinde. All other MPs of the party were present in the meeting," he said.

Out of 18 MPs, two were absent - Bhavana Gawali and Shrikant Shinde. All other MPs of the party were present in the meeting: Gajanan Kirtikar, Shiv Sena MP pic.twitter.com/8lpvYVQWWA

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2022

Notably, there is no whip or Presidential elections and the MPs can vote according to their will.

READ| 'Never thought I will...': How Draupadi Murmu came to know about becoming Presidential candidate

Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut, known to be close to Uddhav Thackeray, left without talking to the media. There is a buzz that Raut is not in favor of supporting Draupadi Murmu and is still ready to back Yashwant  Sinha.

The presedential election would be held on July 18 and result would be out on July 21. If elected, Murmu will become the first tribal president of India and the second woman president. 
 
The term of the current President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24.