Veteran politician and National Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said he will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
There were reports earlier that Pawar would contest from Madha constituency southwest Maharashtra, however, he said today that he has decided against the idea.
The NCP chief said that he thought that already two members of his family are contesting polls this time, hence this is the right time to take a decision to not contest in upcoming elections since he already has contested 14 times in the past.
Pawar also indicated that Parth, son of his nephew and senior party leader Ajit Pawar, may be fielded from Maval constituency in Pune district.
The 78-year-old had earlier been elected to Lok Sabha seven times. He previously served as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister on three separate occasions and held the posts of Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of India. Pawar hails from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra.
Pawar is a member of the Rajya Sabha where he leads the NCP delegation.
