Pawar rules out rejoining Cong

NEW DELHI, OCT 23: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has ruled out his re-entry into Congress saying, "a second rung of leadership" with Priyanka and Rahul was getting ready and had no regrets over damaging Congress’ prospects in Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.

"I don’t see any possibility (of returning to Congress). That is out of question. A second line leadership is getting ready. Sonia to be followed by Priyanka, Priyanka by Rahul, the booking is quite heavy there," he told Janata ki Adalat programme on Star Plus, a release by the network said.

He said the Congress would have won 40 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra and the "Government here would not have been Vajpayee’s but Sonia Gandhi’s and we would have not allowed that. That’s why whatever we did, was in the nation’s interest."

Pawar said Congress lost the LS polls because of Sonia’s foreign origin issue.