Mumbai: Seeking to put an end to rumours that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar might be a contender for the President’s post, his daughter and Member of Parliament Supriya Sule has refuted any such possibility.
“I know we don’t have the numbers to see Pawarsaheb as President of India. So, when we know our limitations then why would we dream about it?” Ms Sule said in an interview to this paper on Friday. President Pranab Mukherjee’s five-year tenure will expire in July this year. Mr Pawar’s proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen the NCP chief being rumoured as a possible candidate for the coveted post.
“I am not that new to politics. I know the reality and I am a responsible MP. I work professionally. So no emotions attached in such issues. There are limitations of our party. We don’t have the numbers that it requires. So we do not see such dreams, which are not possible,” Ms Sule said when asked whether Mr Pawar’s close relations across the political spectrum will help him become the next President.
Rumours that Mr Pawar was eyeing the country’s highest post started doing the rounds in state and national politics after his 75th birthday celebration in New Delhi on December 10, 2015.
In an event that was attended by the who’s who of Indian politics and industry, Mr Pawar was felicitated by President Mukherjee and leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Congress president Sonia Gandhi praised him for his administrative and political skills.
Recently, when the PM was in Pune, he called Mr Pawar his “political guru” and someone who had taught him politics from the latter’s early days. Subsequently, the Modi-government awarded Mr Pawar the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest citizenry award in the country. All these incidents pointed towards Mr Pawar’s bonhomie with the current dispensation at the Centre and his push towards the highest post in the country. However, Ms Sule has now tried to put all rumours to rest with her statement.
