Pawar rules out retirement from politics

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday dismissed reports of his taking "sannyas" (retirement) from politics and appeared to rule out the possibility of his daughter Supriya Sule taking over as party president.

"I don't think she has interest. She has no interest," Pawar told NDTV when asked about the possibility of Supriya becoming the party's chief after him.

Replying to questions about reports of his retirement from politics, Pawar said "I just said...I contested fourteen elections and won all of them. I think now it's time for a person like me to go to Rajya Sabha and not to follow the direct electoral route."

Asked whether he is saying that he is not taking retirement from politics and is very much going to be part of NCP, Pawar said "off course, I will work for the party."

He said he will get more time to devote to the party as a Rajya Sabha member as otherwise a Lok Sabha member has to spend more time for his constituency.

He ruled out the possibility of merger of NCP with Congress saying the rank and file of his party would like to maintain an "independent identity".

"But simultaneously the rank and file in my party would like to maintain an independent identity," Pawar said when pointed out that the issues that led to NCP's formation do not seem critical now and that he shares an excellent equation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.