The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu would receive a record number of votes from Maharashtra in the July 18 presidential election, asserted the leadership of the new BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Devendra Fadnavis.
Ms. Murmu, who arrived in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon was received by CM Shinde and DCM Fadnavis at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
She later met and interacted with BJP MPs and MLAs as well as legislators of Mr. Shinde’s rebel Shiv Sena faction at the Leela Hotel in Mumbai, where Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari was also present.
Mr. Shinde, Mr. Fadnavis and Mr. Gadkari said that Ms. Murmu would get more votes from Maharashtra than in any of the NDA-ruled states.
They further said that Prime Minister Modi had made the country proud by giving an opportunity to a person from the tribal community to become President of the country.
In her address, Ms. Murmu lauded the State’s progress in every sector - industry, trade, education, agriculture – while remarking she was grateful for the support given by the MLAs and MPs.
Earlier, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray too had announced his faction’s support for Ms. Murmu in the July 18 presidential election, thereby irking his allies in the MVA coalition – the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who are gunning for Yashwant Sinha, the opposition’s candidate in the Presidential race.
This prompted speculation that Ms. Murmu may meet with Mr. Thackeray at the latter’s residence ‘Matoshree’ to express thanks for the latter’s support. However, no such development transpired.
Mr. Thackeray’s support to Ms. Murmu, the former Governor of Jharkhand, in lieu of former Union Minister Mr. Sinha is being seen as an attempt by the beleaguered ex-Chief Minister to build bridges with the BJP after the latter aided Mr. Shinde’s intra-party rebellion to topple the MVA.
