NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar’s state unit chief Jayant Patil on Thursday said there was no question of his party chief Sharad Pawar jumping into the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as is being speculated due to the current political situation in the state. “He (Sharad Pawar) is Rajya Sabha MP and there is time for his tenure to get over. There is no question of him contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” said Patil after the first rally of the party with the new name NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar, which was held in Hadapsar. There are speculations that Sharad Pawar would contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency as Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared putting up a candidate for the seat while appealing to voters of Baramati to support his candidate. The seat is presently represented by Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, and has been a bastion of the Pawar family. Patil said party workers turned up in large numbers for the rally to show support towards their leader. “They are determined to ensure the victory of the party in the forthcoming elections,” he said, adding that the party’s city unit chief Prashant Jagtap was doing good work in Hadapsar Assembly constituency, which will ensure the party candidate’s victory. Patil said while the new name of the party has been approved by the Election Commission, there is no decision yet on the symbol. “The party president is taking opinion of party workers and leaders on the symbol and would then submit selected ones to the Election Commission for allotting one to the party,” he said. He informed that a meeting of MVA alliance partners is likely on Friday that would clear the seat sharing arrangement after which the process for selecting candidates would begin.
