I can still be PM: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said he is still in the race for prime ministership.

"Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda could occupy the post even though he had just 17 MPs. So my option for the prime ministership is still open," he said after casting his vote in his hometown Baramati, Maharashtra.

"It is my desire to become prime minister of the country, but everything depends on the situation ahead," Pawar said.

The Left Front, which usually has 60 to 70 members in Parliament, will play a crucial role in formation of the government, he added.

"There is going to be a big setback" for the National Democratic Alliance, he said, adding that if the amalgam "is not able to get majority, the alliance partners are likely to switch their loyalties".