Sharad Pawar not to fight Lok Sabha elections

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday announced that he will not contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Written By : ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 11 Mar 2019 04:14 PM (IST)

Sharad Pawar not to fight Lok Sabha elections Sharad Pawar not to fight Lok Sabha elections

NCP chief Sharad Pawar. PTI Photo

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday announced that he will not contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Pawar also indicated that Parth, son of his nephew and senior party leader Ajit Pawar, may be fielded from Maval LS constituency in Pune.

Maharashtra, which has around eight crore voters, sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh which has 80 seats.

MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday announced that he will not contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The NCP had on February 13 said that Pawar would contest from Madha in Maharashtra. The Madha seat is held by his party leader Vijaysingh Mohite Patil. Pawar's announcement at a press conference came after recent speculation that he may contest from there. "I thought that already two members of my family are contesting polls this time and hence I felt this is right time to take decision to not contest, since I already have contested 14 times in the past," Pawar said. The former Union Minister said there was a lot of insistence (from within NCP) that he should contest from Madha. The NCP chief also indicated that Parth, son of his nephew and senior party leader Ajit Pawar, may be fielded from Maval LS constituency in Pune district. "Many people are asking (me) to field Parth from Maval," the former Union minister said. Asked if the fear of possible defeat made him rethink of contesting from Madha, Pawar said, "I have successfully faced 14 elections. Do you think a 15th will deter me?" PTI quoting a political observer said prime ministerial ambitions have always been associated with Pawar, but the veteran politician had earlier said he was not eyeing the top post. Maharashtra, which has around eight crore voters, sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh which has 80 seats. The BJP, riding on the 'Modi wave', surged ahead in the state in 2014 by winning 23 seats while its ally Shiv Sena bagged 18. The Congress, which ruled the state in alliance with the NCP for 15 years, managed to win just two seats while Pawar's party bagged four. The BJP and the Shiv Sena, despite internal bickerings, have already finalised their alliance to contest 25 and 23 Lok Sabha seats, respectively. The Congress and NCP have so far not announced their seat-sharing details and are trying to woo Dalit Leader Prakash Ambedkar to be a part of their alliance. (With agency inputs)