Pawar praises Sonia Gandhi for turning down PM post

Just a year before the 2014 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for the first time publicly credited Congress president Sonia Gandhi with “greatness” for declining to become Prime Minister after the 2004 general elections.

Just a year before the 2014 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for the first time publicly credited Congress president Sonia Gandhi with “greatness” for declining to become Prime Minister after the 2004 general elections.

HT Image

The union agriculture minister said at a function in Pune on Sunday night, “It is true that we had raised certain issues regarding the post of PM. However, it is the greatness of Sonia Gandhi that she did not accept the post. She will go down in history for turning down the PM post. We have accepted her greatness.’’

Pawar’s praise is being read in political circles as a clear indication that his party will align with the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Maharashtra.

“The candid admission by Pawar indicates that he is keen on continuing this alliance in 2014,’’ said political analyst Surendra Jondhale.