Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said reports of him being the Opposition's candidate for the post of President of India are "absolutely false".
"It is absolutely false that I will be a candidate for the Presidential election. I know what will be the result, given the party (BJP) that has more than 300 MPs. I will not be a candidate for the Presidential election," news agency ANI quoted the senior politician as saying.
According to a report, poll strategist Prashant Kishor met Rahul, Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and had a discussion regarding the Opposition's candidate for the post of President of the country. The report quoted sources as saying that Sharad Pawar's name was at the forefront.
Interestingly, Kishor has had two meetings with Pawar in the last month. The meetings had lead to speculation that he is helping build a larger Opposition front to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next cycle of Assembly elections and later in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Meanwhile, Pawar has clarified that the meetings with the poll strategist were not regarding the leadership for the 2024 general elections or the Presidential election.
"Prashant Kishor met me twice, but we only talked about a company of his. No discussion was held regarding the leadership for the 2024 elections or the Presidential election. Prashant Kishor told me that he has left the field of formulating poll strategies," the former Union Minister said.
"Nothing has been decided so far, be it the 2024 General Elections or state elections. The election is far away, political situation keeps changing. I am not going to assume any leadership in the 2024 Election," he added.
