Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that after Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress leader was being taken seriously and someday he would provide leadership to the nation.

Speaking during an interaction at the India Today Conclave here, he reiterated that there was no question of him joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Those who have gone with BJP have nothing to do with NCP and they have switched sides because of the threat of investigating agencies," he said referring to the NCP rebels led by Ajit Pawar.

Pawar said, "After his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi is being taken seriously and he will provide leadership to the nation someday." On Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, he said the central probe agency's action will further strengthen the INDIA bloc.

Pawar also said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently told him that the AAP was ready to give three of the seven seats in Delhi to Congress.

He expressed confidence that the Congress will revive in Uttar Pradesh, a key state in the Hindi heartland.

The former Union minister added that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) would definitely form a government in Maharashtra after the next year's assembly elections.

Pawar, regarded as the architect of the MVA comprising the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP, said they have made constituency-wise analyses in the state.

"Definitely, we will form a government in Maharashtra...We honestly feel, by and large, in the last (Lok Sabha) elections, we got only four seats here. But this time, I will not be surprised if we get at least 50 per cent seats," he said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.