New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will not be declared Prime Ministerial candidate but will lead the party’s campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party said on Thursday, putting to rest intense speculation about his role.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) which lasted for almost two hours.
The meeting saw several leaders pushing for declaring Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate but party president Sonia Gandhi intervened to say that the Congress did not have a tradition of making such as a declaration before the elections.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley taunted the Congress for not declaring Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate.
He said the Congress knew ‘it will not form the government’ and felt there was no need to declare its candidate.
Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters that the CWC meeting decided the agenda for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting to be held on Friday, in which a resolution will speak about the role of Rahul Gandhi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“This meeting of CWC declares that the 2014 election campaign will be led by Rahul Gandhi,” Dwivedi said reading out from the resolution. Dwivedi said Sonia Gandhi told the meeting that it was not necessary for the Congress to declare a Prime Ministerial candidate even if some other party had done so.
Party sources said the leadership had sought to do a balancing act by not formally projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate but also making it amply clear that he would occupy the position if the party forms the government after the Lok Sabha polls to be held in April-May.
They said party leaders did not want the 2014 election to turn into a presidential-style contest between Rahul Gandhi and Modi as it could suit the BJP.
The CWC decision, however, turned out to an anti-climax to the reportage in the media and anticipation in sections of the party about the possible announcement concerning Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi already heads the party’s election coordination committee for Lok Sabha polls.
Dwivedi said an announcement was made about Dr. Manmohan Singh’s candidature as Prime Minister ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as he was already holding the position.
Dr. Singh had announced earlier this month that he will not be seeking another term as Prime Minister. (IANS)