The Shiv Sena, an ideological ally of the BJP in the NDA, on Thursday made it clear that it will take an independent stand in the upcoming President and vice-president’s elections suggesting that nobody should take its support for granted.
The Shiv Sena has 11 members in the Lok Sabha and four members in the Rajya Sabha.
The party’s stand was spelt out by its MP Sanjay Raut. “Balasaheb Thackeray will take a final decision in this regard,” he said.
The Shiv Sena had backed Ms Pratibha Patil against late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the presidential election held in July 2007. Ms Patil was the candidate of the Congress-led UPA and the Left while Shekhawat was backed by the BJP led NDA minus the Shiv Sena.
At that time the Shiv Sena said it was backing the Marathi candidate.
In 1997, it had backed former chief election commissioner T.N. Seshan against K.R. Narayanan. These two elections had shown that it did not follow the BJP line blindly.
Mr Raut further said that the Shiv Sena always kept the national interests in mind in such elections.
He spelt out the party’s stand at a time when a section of the Congress-led UPA is in favour of Punjab chief minister and the Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal to become the vice-president.
The Congress and the BJP, heading the UPA and the NDA, will find it difficult to press for their candidates if their allies — the Trinamul Congress, the DMK, the NCP, the National Conference, the SAD, the Shiv Sena and the JD(U) — would take a different line with the Samajwadi Party, the BJD, the AIADMK and others.