New Delhi. Pitching for a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee, ruling NDA constituent Shiv Sena on Friday asserted that Mr Mukherjee has proved to be “best President” and nobody can doubt his capabilities. The Congress, however, said the party high command will take a call on the issue.
“In the last five years, he has shown that he is a capable and a non-controversial President, who is well-versed in national and international affairs,” said Shiv Sena’s leader Sanjay Raut adding that he will meet Mr Mukherjee next week. Mr Mukherjee’s current term ends on July 25 next year and, according to reports, the Rashtrapati Bhawan has approached the government to find a suitable accomodation for him in Lutyen’s bungalow zone.
When asked whether the Congress would back Mr Mukherjee for a second term, party spokesperson Shobha Oza said, “We will let you know. We don’t know what Shiv Sena has said. The party high command has to take a call on this.”
Asked whether the Shiv Sena, which is a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA and the oldest ideological ally of the saffron party, would appeal to other parties for backing Mr Mukherjee for a second term, Mr Raut said, it is a decision which only party chief Uddhav Thackeray can take. “Uddhav Thackeray too has a lot of respect and affection for Pranab Mukherjee,” he said.
Mr Raut, who is the executive editor of Shiv Sena’s mouthpeice Saamna, said, “Just like his party appreciated the surgical strikes by the Armed Forces and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, similarly, we are appreciating the good work of the President.”
During run-up to the Presidential polls, Mr Mukherjee, then a senior Congress leader, had visited Matoshree, the residence of the Thackerays, to garner support for his candidature. The Sena, under Bal Thackeray’s leadership, had broken ranks with BJP to support Mr Mukherjee’s presidential candidature in 2012.
