Days after a Shiv Sena MP requested party chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to declare support for NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, it seems that the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will have a tough time in its parliamentary constituency. Turbulence from the wing is on the cards.
Several Shiv Sena MPs attended a meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Monday and urged him to support Murmu for the presidency and open the door to a possible reconciliation with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction, as Party sources said.
According to party sources, a decision on the July 18 presidential election will be taken “in a day or two” and Thackeray was “seeming positive” on the request to support Murmu.
Party sources said that 13 of the party’s 18 Lok Sabha MPs from Maharashtra and two of its three Rajya Sabha MPs attended the meeting held at Matoshree.
Sources said that keeping in mind the upcoming elections (for local bodies) and the future of the party, at least eight of them supported Murmu’s candidature and a possible “patch-up” with the BJP and Shinde faction.
Describing the BJP as an “ideological ally” of the Shiv Sena, a senior party functionary said the party has a natural alliance with the BJP, though Thackeray did not comment on it, saying it would be considered.
The functionary said that though there was bitterness between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, and the rebellion escalated, but if the party extends support to Murmu, the door of reconciliation would open and an opportunity would be given to initiate the process of establishing a settlement and establishing a settlement. Once again a relationship.
Shinde’s sons Shrikant Shinde, Bhawna Gawli, who is under the scanner of the ED, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Mandlik and Hemant Patil were not present. Kalaben Delkar, the lone Shiv Sena MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was also not present.
According to Shiv Sena functionaries, Jadhav, Mandlik and Patil later told the Thackeray camp that they could not attend the meeting due to “certain issues” including “heavy rains in their respective constituencies and personal reasons”. Party sources said Patil met Thackeray after the meeting.
Last week, the Thackeray camp removed Gawli from the post of chief whip of the Shiv Sena parliamentary party and nominated MP Rajan Vichare in his place. Two weeks ago, Gawli had written to Thackeray suggesting an alliance with the BJP.
During this, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut and Priyanka Chaturvedi were also present. However, third Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai could not attend as he was in Delhi.
The Shinde camp has claimed that at least 12 of the 18 Shiv Sena MPs are in touch with the chief minister – and many of them met Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday, when Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis went to meet the Union home minister. Were. ,