Bhopal, July 19: Terming Congress bid for an alliance of like-minded opposition parties as a `non-starter', NCP president Sharad Pawar today asserted his party is still opposed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi being projected as prime minister owing to her foreign origin. "The call for alliance given by Congress in its Shimla meet has already suffered a set back following different views expressed by left parties, a crucial section among like minded opposition parties," Pawar told reporters here.

"At the moment, there is no viable alternative in sight as some parties, including those belonging to left, have made it clear that they would maintain an equal distance from both Congress as well as the BJP," Pawar, who is here to attend the party's Madhya Pradesh level conference, said.

Similarly, Janata Dal (Secular) also does not appear to be in favour of a tie-up with Congress, he said.

Asked whether Sonia's foreign origin would be an obstacle in becoming prime ministerial candidate, Pawar said, "our views on the issue remain unchanged. In the event of formation of a front or an alliance, the issue of leadership would be decided by all the constituents and not by any single party."

To a query, he said, "history shows that the size of a political party never determines prime ministership. When Chandra Shekhar, H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral became prime ministers, their parties were pretty small compared to other partners in their coalitions." Bureau Report