Dispelling speculations, Nationalist Congress Party supremo, Sharad Pawar, confirmed, he is not standing in the Presidential election in mid-2022.
Clearing rumours that had been doing rounds in political quarters, Pawar said it was “absolutely false” that he will contest for the post of President. The rumours took shape after the poll strategist Prashant Kishor met the top rung of Congress leaders in Delhi, this morning.
However, Pawar didn’t rule it out because he wasn’t willing to stand up for the post but as he said, “I know what the result will be given the party (Bharatiya Janata Party) has more than 300 MPs,”.
Throwing light on whether the discussion between him and Kishor focused on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the Presidential election, the veteran politician said, “No talks were held regarding the leadership for the 2024 elections or the Presidential polls. He also informed that he has quit the field of devising election strategies for parties”.
He pointed out that nothing has been decided so far, whether it is the 2024 Lok Sabha or Maharashtra Assembly elections, since the polls are still far off, and the political scenario keeps changing.
“I am not going to assume any leadership for the 2024 elections,” declared Pawar, with conviction.
The NCP’s national spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik too made it clear that there was no discussion pertaining to the Presidential polls in the party.
“However, if someone is circulating such news, then I would like to clarify that it’s not true,” Malik said, of unsourced reports claiming Pawar would be the joint Opposition nominee for the 2022 Presidential elections.
…With IANS inputs