Friday, December 30 2005 10:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi yesterday (Dec 29, 2005) said her husband Rajiv Gandhi used to be 'very keen' that she contested elections but she resisted the idea as she was a 'very, very private person' and a 'reluctant' politician.

Now, she said, she has become used to politics and public life.

"He (Rajiv) was very keen that I fight elections. (But) of course, I resisted it," Gandhi, who almost became the Prime Minister last year, said in an interview to NDTV.

Noting that she was a 'reluctant politician', the Congress chief said, "Circumstances compelled me to enter politics. I think I have got used to it. I am quite comfortable in politics." She said, "I am rather shy and private person though I think I have progressed. I am now less shy than I used to be." Gandhi said even Rajiv used to be a private person. "Before he entered politics, we had a very private life. So it took a lot of adjustment to be used to limelight. But then one gets used to it."

Asked how she likes to spend her free time, she said, "I would like to spend my time with my grand children, with my family. If I have time at my disposal, I invariably spend it with my family."