Now onwards I will be active only in national politics:Munde

Ahmednagar, July 23 (UNI) BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde has said from now onwards, he would distance himself from state politics and concentrate only on national level politics.

Speaking to reporters here, the former state Home Minister rued the fact that although there are several Ministers hailing from Maharashtra, at the Centre, no one could prove himself to be a heavyweight like Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

''In order to fill this vacuum I have decided to take the plunge in national politics,'' Munde declared.

He had come to pay obeisance at Sai-baba temple at Shirdi yesterday.

With regard to the recent Presidential elections, he pointed out that even though the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena had come together on a common platform, they still lost around 14 votes due to cross-voting.

When asked about the future of the NDA alliance and the souring of ties between the BJP and the Sena, he clarified that the BJP is not angry with the Sena, but definitely feels let down and dissapointed. ''We did not expect this from our alliance partner,'' he lamented that the the final decision regarding the future of the alliance will be taken by the party high-command.

UNI