MUMBAI: At least three Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, including the one which NCP chief Sharad Pawar will contest despite his earlier decision of withdrawing from electoral politics, will be keenly watched in the upcoming general polls. Besides Madha Lok Sabha seat from where 78-year-old Pawar is likely to contest, the other constituencies such as Nagpur and Solapur will also be in the limelight.
Pawar, currently a Rajya Sabha member, had earlier announced he will not contest the Lok Sabha polls, but recently changed his decision. He said some of his party colleagues were insisting he contest the Lok Sabha poll from Solapur’s Madha seat, currently represented by party leader Vijaysinh Mohite Patil.
According to a political observer, prime ministerial ambitions have always been associated with Pawar, but the veteran politician earlier said he was not eyeing the top post. “Pawar may still win from Madha, but it may not be a cake-walk,” the observer said.
The former Union minister, whose party is in talks with the Congress for seat-sharing, earlier said there will be state-specific alliances and not a national tie-up against the BJP and he will try to bring all like-minded parties on one platform to take on the saffron outfit.