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Pawar non-committal on accepting Sonia as PM probable
New Delhi, July 08: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar who was expelled from the Congress party for raking up the issue of the foreign origins of Sonia Gandhi was today non-committal whether his party would back her as the next prime minister of India.
New Delhi, July 08: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar who was expelled from the Congress party for raking up the issue of the foreign origins of Sonia Gandhi was today non-committal whether his party would back her as the next prime minister of India.
"I don't think any such suggestion or question of
leadership -- whether it is Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh, Jyoti
Basu or Sonia Gandhi is before us... -- I will not be able to
make any comment on the issue unless and until the party's
working committee decides on the matter,” Pawar, told a
TV-channel.
Pawar along with senior leaders P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar parted ways with Congress in 1999 on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin and later formed NCP.
The two parties contested state assembly elections separately but are running a coalition government in Maharashtra.
Specifically asked if he would be accepting the leadership of Gandhi in the wake of Congress making it clear that Gandhi would be its leader, he said "if any secular political party is going to put such preconditions on such matter, the party's highest decision making body would decide it".
The former Maharashtra chief minister said his party has already passed a resolution stating that it was for unity of all the secular forces to provide a "broad" alternative to NDA government at the Centre.
Hoping to regain power at the Centre in next Lok Sabha elections, Congress is expected to move forward on the crucial alliance issue by favouring a party-led coalition headed by Sonia Gandhi to defeat the BJP-led NDA at the hustings.
Lately, NCP leadership has been pressuring Congress to decide in advance about a tie-up between the two parties for the state assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Pawar along with senior leaders P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar parted ways with Congress in 1999 on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin and later formed NCP.
The two parties contested state assembly elections separately but are running a coalition government in Maharashtra.
Specifically asked if he would be accepting the leadership of Gandhi in the wake of Congress making it clear that Gandhi would be its leader, he said "if any secular political party is going to put such preconditions on such matter, the party's highest decision making body would decide it".
The former Maharashtra chief minister said his party has already passed a resolution stating that it was for unity of all the secular forces to provide a "broad" alternative to NDA government at the Centre.
Hoping to regain power at the Centre in next Lok Sabha elections, Congress is expected to move forward on the crucial alliance issue by favouring a party-led coalition headed by Sonia Gandhi to defeat the BJP-led NDA at the hustings.
Lately, NCP leadership has been pressuring Congress to decide in advance about a tie-up between the two parties for the state assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Bureau Report