In a move that shows he can no longer afford to disapprove of a majority decision in the party, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced his support to the NDA’s presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu, who has emerged as his party MPs’ and tribal leaders’ favourite choice.

During a meeting with Thackeray on Monday, the Sena parliamentarians, who have not yet broken away from the party following a rebellion, demanded that they go with the BJP in the presidential polls, and even otherwise. Thackeray is already facing a challenge to resurrect the party in the wake of the rebellion by Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs. Perception is that the MPs, too, have formed a group and found an opportunity to exert pressure. However, while announcing the decision on Tuesday afternoon, Thackeray denied being under pressure from the MPs.