BJP

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

NDA

Hindu Rashtra

National Democratic Alliance

Matoshree

AIADMK

Telangana Rashtra Samiti

As Shiv Sena tries to wrong-foot, Fadnavis — who has support of other parties — is unperturbed, but prefers Sena as junior partner.The Shiv Sena on Friday hinted that it could take an independent line with respect to the presidential elections scheduled for July, creating a small flutter among the BJP top brass.On Friday,said the Sena would continue to press foras thecandidate for the presidential polls. “Bhagwat is the most appropriate choice for the rashtrapati’s office if India is to be turned into a,” Raut said.This is the latest move by the Sena to embarrass its partner party, the BJP. The Sena wants to create the impression that the BJP needs its support badly for July’s presidential polls, and is trying hard to bargain. Some Sena leaders told Mirror that this was also the time when the party could renegotiate its role in the(NDA). Till July, they said, the Sena would continue to play truant and try to wrong-foot the BJP on several fronts.Raut’s statement is a clear indication thatwill continue to play a cat-and-mouse game with the BJP, which, although it has the support of other parties, would still like to maintain close ties with the Shiv Sena, including getting its backing for the presidential election.But BJP leaders said they were not worried by the Sena’s shenanigans, because parties like the(TRS) and YSR Congress have already expressed their willingness to support an NDA candidate. The BJP hopes that even Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which rules Odisha, will soon come on board.MPs and MLAs vote in the presidential elections. The value of each Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP’s vote is 708; the value of MLA’s votes is decided by the population of the state she or he represents. For the purpose of the election, population figures are frozen at those recorded by the 1971Census.The total value of the NDA’s vote is 5.32 lakh, and it is currently short of the halfway mark by 17,000.However, if the Sena decides to go rogue and does not support a BJP-nominated candidate, as indicated by Raut by bringing up the name of Bhagwat (who, sources said, is not in the reckoning for president), the BJP will have to look for an additional 25,893 votes.A senior BJP leader who did not wish to be named told Mirror: “Just one party like the AIDMK, with its 134 MLAs and 50 MPs, brings us an additional 58,984 votes. So, even if the Sena ditches us, the NDA’s presidential candidate will sail through comfortably. However, this does not mean that we will deliberately antagonise the Sena; as far as possible, we will try to take them on board, but if they decide to vote for some other candidate, good luck to them.”When contacted, the Maharashtra BJP’s chief spokesperson, Madhav Bhandari, said: “The issue of presidential elections falls under the purview of the central leadership, so we would not like to comment on it.”The Sena had ditched the BJP-led NDA during the 2007 and 2012 presidential polls by backing Pratibha Patil and later Pranab Mukherjee, both UPA nominees, for the coveted office of president. Both Patil and Mukherjee had called on late Sena chief Bal Thackeray in the run-up to their elections to seek his party's support, leaving the BJP fuming on both occasions.Earlier this week, Sena ministers skipped the cabinet meeting over the BJP-led government’s delay in announcing a loan waiver for farmers. Sena ministers said they would not attend cabinet meetings till the government granted a complete waiver of farm loans.A senior BJP cabinet minister said: “CM Devendra Fadnavis prefers the Sena as a junior partner despite its outbursts. The CM prefers the Sena over any other political arrangement in the state, for now. There is speculation about snap polls, but any call on that will only be taken after the presidential elections. Going with the NCP now would be futile. The Sena’s outbursts are just stunts and they can’t afford to quit at any cost.”Senior state BJP leaders will discuss the issue with national president Amit Shah when he visits Mumbai for three days from June 17, sources said on Tuesday. Shah is expected to meet Maharashtra BJP functionaries.