Ending speculation about its reluctance to go with the ruling BJP in the Presidential election, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday announced that it would support the NDA presidential poll nominee Ram Nath Kovind whom it described as a “good candidate”.
Twenty four hours after he had an indirect dig at the BJP saying that his party had no interest in supporting a Dalit candidate if he had been put up merely for the sake of cornering votes in the polls, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray did a U-turn and announced his party’s support to Kovind, whom the ruling party had announced him as the NDA candidate for the July 17, 2017 presidential poll.
Addressing a news conference after holding a meeting with his party senior leaders at his “Matoshri” residence, Uddhav said: “Kovind is a good presidential candidate. We are confident that he would work well for the country and take good decisions. After discussing with my party’s senior leaders, I have decided to extend the Sena’s support to Kovind’s candidature”.
“Initially we had mooted the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the NDA candidate for the Presidential polls. He continues to be our option one. Since he was not in the presidential race, we proposed the name of Agriculture Scientist M S Swaminathan. Swaminathan’s name came up for discussion at my meeting with BJP president Amit Shah. But, Amit Shah told me that Swaminathan’s candidature could not be considered as he was not keeping well. That’s why the BJP has announced the third name and we are supporting Kovind’s candidature”.
Justifying the Sena’s support to the NDA’s candidate, Uddhav said: “We do not oppose the decisions taken by the BJP merely for the sake of opposition. We support whatever that is good and oppose such decisions that we disapprove. There is no question of our supporting a candidate to be proposed by the Congress-led Opposition which is still to make up its mind on the presidential poll nominee”.
That the sheer political expediency that has prompted Uddhav to renege on his earlier remarks can be evidenced from the fact that on Monday he had thrown all hints that he might not support the NDA candidate Kovind.
“How does it make a difference any of us as to who would become the PresidentIJ But, if a Dalit is being nominated for the sake of Dalit votes in the polls, then we have no interest in such a nomination. But, if you decide to nominate a person who, after getting elected, would work for not just Dalits but work in the interest of the whole country, then the Sena is with you (BJP),” Uddhav had said on Monday, two days after he met Shah at his Bandra residence.
Apparently taking an exception to the BJP putting up a Dalit candidate, Uddhav had said: “If you indulge in mere vote bank politics then the Sena will not be part of such politics. The vote bank politics may help a political party win an election, but it will not be in the interest of the country”.