Shiv Sena to support Droupadi Murmu in Presidential election, says Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 12 : The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has decided to support Droupadi Murmu, the BJP-led NDA's candidate, in the Presidential polls on July 18.
"We decided to extend our support to Droupadi Murmu for her presidency, considering that a tribal woman is getting an opportunity to become the President. Yes, I know politics will start after this but there is no politics in it. We had supported Pratibha Patil for the presidency in the past as well," said Uddhav Thackeray today.
He added, "There was no pressure on me for this decision as it is being circulated that my MPs brought pressure on me and I had to forcefully take this decision. All my MPs unanimously said that till now no one has been given an opportunity to represent the Adivasi community at that level. Thus, we all should support Droupadi Murmu ji and we decided to give our support to Murmu in the presidential election. There was no pressure on us in this matter, nor did we think about any political angle in it."
Sixteen of the 18 Shiv Sena MPs from Maharashtra have urged Uddhav Thackeray to support NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential election. In a meeting called by Thackeray in Mumbai yesterday, 16 MPs said the party must extend its support to the NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The presidential elections are scheduled to be held on July 18. There is no whip for the presidential elections and MPs can vote as per their will.
Earlier, Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar told the media that 16 of the party's MPs had agreed that Sena should support Murmu as she is a woman belonging to the tribal community. Kiritkar said, 16 out of the total 18 Lok Sabha MPs of the Sena physically attended the key meeting on the presidential elections and all agreed on supporting Murmu. He said, out of 18, two MPs Bhavana Gawali and Shrikant Shinde were absent from the meeting.