Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided against attending the CHOGM summit as he was pressed by "competing sentiments" in India about outstanding issues with Sri Lanka and domestic compulsions like polls in five states, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said.

"I imagine a lot of things were factored in," Khurshid told CNN in an interview when asked why the Prime Minister did not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo.

"We are now into five elections and important elections, the last round of elections before the general elections some time in the middle of next year. We are also handling some very, very critical economic issues including issues which are far-reaching reform issues, some of which will come before the next session of Parliament that's now a few weeks away," Khurshid said, explaining the reasons for Singh's absence at the summit.