Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unofficially announced the Congress Party’s prime ministerial candidate on Saturday, suggesting that party vice-president and Nehru-Gandhi family scion Rahul would be an ideal choice as his successor at 7, Race Course Road and he would be happy to work for the party under Mr Gandhi’s stewardship.
Dr Singh also suggested that his party was open to alliances with other like-minded, secular parties, particularly Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress, to give the polity a thrust in favour of secular elements.
The Prime Minister’s suggestion comes ahead of rival Bharatiya Janata Party’s formal announcement of a prime ministerial candidate despite Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi being assigned to lead the charge for the next general election.
Now, it should only be a matter a time before India’s two biggest national parties officially announce their prime ministerial candidates ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls. The official candidature of Mr Gandhi and Mr Modi will pit India’s next-gen political face against the champion of India’s Hindu past.
Dr Singh referred to Mr Gandhi in response to a specific question on if he was eager to run for a third successive term as Prime Minister or join other party leaders who would like to see the young MP lead the party.
Dr Singh’s specific response to that question was: “I have always maintained that Rahul Gandhiji would be an ideal choice for the Prime Minister’s position after the 2014 election. I would be very happy to work for the Congress under the leadership of Shri Rahul Gandhi.” Dr Singh’s very carefully articulated observation makes it clear that should Mr Gandhi finally step into his shoes, Dr Singh would devote himself to post-retirement party work.
Asked if he was prepared for questioning on the recent corruption cases surrounding his office, as he had offered during the 2G spectrum scam, Dr Singh’s brief response was that he had not prevented anybody from looking at his conduct.
He said he had no desire to hide anything from Parliament, whether it was the coal matter or other matters.