Not in the race for President's post: Pawar

Clearing the mist over his candidature in the upcoming Presidential polls, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he is not in the race for the coveted post.

Pawar while addressing a press conference said he does not want to retire from politics this early.

"I am not in this contest, I don't want to retire form politics so soon," said Pawar.

On a lighter note, Pawar further said that he might get a huge accommodation but he will not be able to interact with the people that often.

"After becoming the President I will not be able to interact with you (media)," he said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has taken the lead to bring together opposition parties to field a common candidate for President against the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) nominee.

Among the first opposition leaders she met was 76-year-old Sharad Pawar.

Gandhi has also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the regard, the Left's Sitaram Yechury and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has pitched for a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee.

With President Mukherjee's term drawing to a close, there were reports that the Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was being considered as one of the leading contenders for the coveted post.