Search the Internet          Tips

Sonia, Pawar talk after over three years

In their first interaction since they parted ways three years ago, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had a telephonic conversation with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, seeking his party's support to Congress nominee Sushilkumar Shinde in the vice-presidential election.

Gandhi rang up Pawar a few days back when he was in Mumbai and requested him to support Shinde in the August 12 election.

Pawar said nothing much should be read into his brief interaction with the Congress president. He said his party has already extended support to Shinde's candidature.

The NCP chief was expelled from the Congress, along with two other senior leaders P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar, in early 1999 after they raised the issue of Gandhi's foreign origins.

Gandhi and Pawar had no direct contact even when their parties came together in Maharashtra over two years back to form the Democratic Front government.

The Congress president had no interaction with Pawar last month when the Maharashtra government had plunged into a crisis following desertions from the NCP camp.

PTI

Tell us what you think of this report