File pic: Sharad Pawar

The Congress' Maharashtra ally Sharad Pawar will not share the stage with Rahul Gandhi to campaign for state polls due next month, his party leaders have said.Mr Pawar, 73, had refused to join election rallies of the Congress vice president even during the national election campaign.In April, the Nationalist Congress Party chief dropped out of a joint rally in Mumbai at the last minute, after he realized that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had cancelled her trip due to poor health.Mr Pawar, who was in the Congress till he broke away in 1999, has not been subtle about his disapproval of Mr Gandhi's leadership. He had openly said before the election that he would not join a government led by the 44-year-old Congress leader.He had also talked about a "huge generation gap" with Mr Gandhi and said he has to prove himself before he considers a greater role in the government.The national election saw the Narendra Modi-led BJP storming to power with a massive mandate, after decimating the previous Congress-led UPA, which had ruled India for 10 years.The Congress' worst-ever defeat led to rumblings within the party with many leaders voicing the need to introspect what went wrong and whether the leadership was found wanting.In Maharashtra, the Congress-NCP combine could win only six of the 48 Lok Sabha seats.The long-time allies have held tense negotiations on seat sharing for the Maharashtra polls.

After the Congress rout, Mr Pawar's party has refused to play junior partner anymore and asked to contest half of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. The Congress has refused, and the allies are yet to come to a middle point.Leaders, however, point out that despite bickering the allies have always been able to iron out kinks in the partnership just before elections.