Mumbai: In an apparent volte-face, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said he would not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the Madha constituency.
At the same time, the 78-year old Maratha strongman endorsed the candidature of Parth Pawar, his grandson, from the Maval seat in Pune district. “Since I have already won elections 14 times, I decided not to contest the poll this time,” said Mr Pawar after holding a meeting with party leaders.
“Somebody from our family had to step back and I decided to give an opportunity to the young leadership. I thought this was the right time to take this decision,” he said.
Parth Pawar, the son of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, will be NCP’s candidate from Maval Lok Sabha constituency, said Mr Pawar.
“Jayant Patil of the Peasant and Workers Party of India, which has a good presence in three of the six Assembly segments in Maval constituency, urged me to give a ticket to Parth as his party is ready to work for him. We also have a strong presence in the three other constituencies and we thought of giving an opportunity to the young leadership by giving a ticket to Parth from Maval,” he added.
