"I am not contesting the Lok Sabha polls," said Nationalist Congress chief Sharad Pawar today.

Pawar's statement comes a day after, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said at an event in Maharashtra's Solapur  that he would be happy to see National Congress Party or NCP chief Sharad Pawar as India's PM.

Shinde's statement, which came ahead of Congress' crucial session on January 17 in which party vice-president Rahul Gandhi is expected to be named as its PM candidate, created quite a furore.

Shinde today clarified saying, "I was asked how would I feel if Pawar becomes PM. I said he is from Maharashtra and an ally, so it will be good. But our basic issue is that we want to make Rahul Gandhi the PM."