After having said that they will not support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential poll candidate Ram Nath Kovind if his candidature was for garnering Dalit votes, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ended all speculations today by declaring the party's support to Kovind. Speaking to newspersons at his residence Matoshree after consulting party leaders Thackeray remarked, "after our discussions we have decided to back the NDA presidential poll candidate Ram Nath Kovind. Replying to queries, he disclosed that BJP president Amit Shah had met him over the weekend and requested for support to their presidential poll candidate. If the Congress led UPA wanted the Shiv Sena support then they should have declared one of the names by now. Also read:Declare presidential candidate, then seek Shiv Sena support, Uddhav Thackeray tells Amit ShahAlso watch:Presidential election 2017: BJP President Amit Shah meets Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray

Source: India Today June 20, 2017 14:15 UTC