NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to contest in Lok Sabha polls from Madha seat

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Madha constituency in Maharashtra, party sources said here on Wednesday. An official announcement is expected later in the day, ending weeks of speculation on this count, the sources said.

A Rajya Sabha member from the NCP guardedly said that Pawar's candidature for the Lok Sabha "is not yet finalized" but a senior state leader categorically confirmed the decision to IANS. Pawar, 78, has been a three-time Chief Minister of Maharashtra besides being the Defence and Agriculture Minister in the Centre.

Now a Rajya Sabha Member, the development comes after Pawar repeatedly asserted in the past couple of years that he wanted to quit "electoral politics" and give space to gen-next in the party. But he hinted at a return to the election battlefield last week.

(With inputs from agencies.)