Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday said former speaker P A Sangma, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on a Trinamul Congress ticket, would be rejoining the party soon.

"It is only a matter of time before he (Sangma) joins the party," NCP spokesman D P Tripathi told reporters.

He added that Sangma would also be attending the party's National Convention, which will be held in Surat [Images] on June 10.

Sangma had quit the NCP ahead of Lok Sabha polls last year, when it tied up with the Congress.

He objected to the Congress tie-up on the grounds that NCP, a breakaway party, was formed to protest against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's [Images] foreign origin issue.

Tripathi said, "The issue has become completely irrelevant now as Sonia has decided not to accept the PM's post." He added there was no question of NCP moderating its stand on the issue.

The NCP has invited leaders of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to address the inaugural session of the Convention 'because we believe that the mandate of 2004 elections was to strengthen the unity among secular democratic forces', he said.

On the acute power crisis in Maharashtra, Tripathi said that some short-term measures were being planned to tide over the situation.

On the decision of Air India Board to purchase 50 aircraft from Boeing, he said it was a 'petty controversy' and explained that Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had made it clear that that there was a system to ensure maximum transparency in such deals.