Mumbai: Ridiculing Congress president's recent statement that her Indianness and commitment cannot be questioned, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan has asked Sonia Gandhi to explain why she waited for 18 years to attain Indian citizenship after her marriage.

Talking informally to reporters, Mahajan said Sonia decided to become an Indian citizen only after Rajiv Gandhi entered politics.

Mahajan's remark assumes significance as Gandhi had sharply berated detractors raising her foreign origin issue, saying she had followed all Indian traditions after her marriage and that her Indianness and commitment cannot be questioned.

The BJP leader said those opposing Sonia would come out in the open in the interest of national pride if she tries to enthrone herself as country's Prime Minister.

Mahajan said there was a possibility of early Assembly poll in Maharashtra.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani would be BJP's star campaigners in the forthcoming elections to five states, he added.

PTI