Not seeking India's assurance on bid for IMF post: Lagarde

NEW DELHI: With India remaining non-committal on supporting her bid for IMF chief's post, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde today said she was not seeking any assurance from the country for her candidature.

Lagarde, a front-runner for the post of Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund, is in India as part of her campaign across emerging economies seeking support for her candidature.

Speaking to reporters here, the French minister said she was not seeking either assurance or re-assurance from India. Lagarde further said she was here to present her candidature and to listen to the concerns of an important emerging market economy like India.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee after meeting his French counterpart said, "There is no assurance (on supporting Christine Lagarde). We are working on a consensus."

"I did not seek an assurance... I think it would be premature and it would be arrogant on my part to expect an assurance or re-assurance," Lagarde said.

Meanwhile, in a television interview, she said that India is willing to consider her candidature.

On a day-long India visit, she also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

"The unanimous view expressed to me today was that nationality and origin (of country) should not be a factor in deciding the IMF chief.