Urmila Matondkar meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: Actor-turned-politician and Congress candidate from state’s Mumbai North parliamentary constituency, Urmila Matondkar, met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday.

Ms Matondkar tweeted  the photo of her meeting with Mr Pawar from her official Twitter handle and said that the veteran leader blessed her ahead of her Lok Sabha (LS) election debut.

She held discussions with Mr Pawar for about half-an-hour on the current political scenario. She exuded confidence that the Maratha strongman’s guidance would set her on the path of victory. “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 strengthening my fight,” Ms Matondkar tweeted in Marathi after the meeting.

Ms Matondkar has been pitted against BJP’s sitting MP Gopal Shetty, who defeated Congress’ Sanjay Nirupam in the 2014 LS polls. The meet with Mr Pawar was to seek the NCP’s help in wooing its voters. The NCP is said to have a presence in areas like Borivali and Magathane.

As seat-sharing pact, the Congress is contesting in five constituencies of Mumbai, while the NCP is contesting in one seat.