Published 18:59 IST, April 11th 2019
Urmila Matondkar meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar, seeks his blessings ahead of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 contest against BJP's Gopal Shetty
Congress candidate Urmila Matondkar on Thursday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence
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Days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai, Congress candidate Urmila Matondkar met Sharad Pawar, chief of Congress ally NCP, at his residence on Thursday.
Matondkar, who is contesting from Mumbai-North Lok Sabha constituency, held discussions with Pawar for about half-an-hour over the current political scenario. She expressed her confidence that the Maratha strongman's guidance will set her on the path of victory.
After her meeting, Matondkar took to Twitter to thank Pawar:
"The journey will be towards victory now after receiving guidance from a guru-like and towering personality, honourable Pawar Saheb. Many thanks to him for strengtheningmy fight."
On having been inducted into the Congress party in the last week of March, Matondkar had expounded on her political leanings, saying, "Although I belong to the Bollywood industry, my family has shaped my personality on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I am not here to show glamour. I am here to stay.”
She is pitted against Gopal Shetty, the sitting BJP MP of the Mumbai-North constituency. Shetty opined on the impending contest on Thursday, making a sexist jibe at Matondkar over the Congress' reasons for fielding her:
"Urmila ji has been brought to politics because she is a celebrity and because she is a celebrity, she has been brought due to how she looks, why would anyone feel bad about it, there's no reason. She is from a political family. She has knowledge about politics. But she has chosen a wrong party."
A battle between the Congress-NCP and BJP-Shiv-Sena alliance awaits Maharashtra.The NCP and the Congress have had longer to get their plans in place having agreed to a 26 (Congress) - 22 (NCP) seat-sharing formula weeks before the BJP and Sena renewed their own alliance.
Elections in Maharashtra will be held across four phases including seven seats which went to polls on April 11.
14:39 IST, April 11th 2019