Pawar to meet state NCP leaders for LS candidate selection

NCP president Sharad Pawar has called a meeting of senior leaders of the party's Maharashtra unit Friday to discuss candidates for the next year's Lok Sabha elections.

"He is keen to finalise or at least shortlist the candidates as early as possible so that preparations for the polls can start," a party leader said here Thursday.

"Seat-sharing talks with the Congress are likely to be concluded soon. Except three or four seats which might be contentious, both parties know which seats they will contest," the leader said.

"We will have to give some seats to smaller allies. Out of 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, we (Congress and NCP) should be able to declare candidates for 38 seats early on," the leader said.

The NCP has demanded that the two parties should contest equal number of seats in Maharashtra this time.

In 2014, the Pawar-led party had contested 21 seats in the state, winning four, while the Congress contested 27 and won two seats.

State unit leaders of the Congress and NCP will also be meeting Friday evening to discuss poll preparations.