Sharad Pawar rules himself out of 2019 Lok Sabha race, discourages Parth Pawar bid

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar told party leaders on Saturday that he would not be a candidate in the coming Lok Sabha election. He made the remark on the opening day of a two-day party meeting at the NCP’s office at Ballard Pier in Mumbai, and also signalled his reluctance about a possible candidature for his grand-nephew Parth Pawar.

A meeting to pick candidates

The NCP had summoned leaders from across Maharashtra to review the political situation and discuss likely names for the 25 constituencies it hoped to contest. Addressing office-bearers on Saturday morning, Pawar asked them not to consider or debate his name, saying he was not contesting any election.

At the same meeting, former NCP minister Sunil Tatkare suggested Bhaskar Jadhav as the party’s candidate for the Raigad Lok Sabha seat.

The Maval question

Parth Pawar, the son of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and part of the third generation of the Pawar family, was reported to be keen on contesting from Maval. When his name came up, Sharad Pawar pushed back, asking what would be left for the workers who build the party if members of the Pawar family contested every election.

The position was expected to disappoint Ajit Pawar and his supporters, who had been projecting Parth as the likely Maval candidate. Party workers also spoke of an unspoken contest between Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule for control of the party. Senior leaders used the meeting to gauge the mood among local leaders and urged them to begin preparing for the polls, in which Sharad Pawar was expected to play a central role.

What happened next

The 2019 Lok Sabha election was held between 11 April and 19 May 2019, with votes counted on 23 May. The BJP won 303 of the 543 seats and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Lok Sabha members

Originally published on 8 October 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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