Sharad Pawar not in the running for PM's post: Tariq

Yesterday, Sushilkumar Shinde had said he would be happy if Pawar became the PM

A day after Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said he would be happy to see National Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar become the prime minister, NCP on Sunday denied he was in the race for the post.

"Pawar is not running for the Prime Minister's post," NCP general secretary and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Tariq Anwar told reporters here in reply to a question. "At the same time, the NCP chief has all the credentials required for the PM's post and his experience in public life is second to none among all political leaders in the country," he said.

Anwar, a close aide of Pawar, said, "It is the number game that decides who becomes the Prime Minister and in the NCP chief's case, he does not have the numbers with him." If Pawar had got the numbers in terms of MPs, he would have definitely become the PM, he added.

On Shinde's praise for Pawar whom he had described as his "political guru", Anwar said the Union Home Minister's remarks were made in his personal capacity. Shinde had worked as a state minister during Pawar's tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister and so his remarks praising NCP should be seen as his respect towards the latter and nothing more, Anwar said.

On NCP's strategy for the general elections to be held this year, the Union Minister said his party was seized with the issue and the same would  be finalised by next March.

In Bihar's case, Anwar said his party was part of the United Progressive Alliance and it would go with whichever alliance the Congress decides to work out in the state.