Congress leaders clash over Rahul Gandhi for PM candidate

NEW DELHI: The suspense over whether Congress will project Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls continues to linger with party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi snubbing his colleague Digvijaya Singh for ruling out the possibility

Sharply reacting to Digvijaya's statement on Friday that Rahul was unlikely to be projected for the top job, Dwivedi called it a "personal opinion". "Individuals may have their personal opinions but on such issues, final decision is taken by the party only. The party declared in Jaipur, when Rahul Gandhi was appointed vice-president, that the question of campaign and leadership will be decided by it later. No time frame was announced", Dwivedi said.

The comment instantly triggered speculation that party was keeping open the option of going to polls with the Gandhi scion as mascot. The party has been careful to avoid such an impression despite having elevated the young leader to formal No. 2 position in the organization as a precursor to the his formally taking over the reins from his mother who has started vacating space.

Political circles feel that Congress is reluctant to project Rahul PM because it would like to the 2014 elections as a Presidential match up between him and Gujarat CM and chairman of BJP's campaign committee Narendra Modi. It is also felt that spelling out the choice might embarrass Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has 9 months of his tenure left and who has been painted by the party as a success.

Congress had so far argued that it has traditionally not projected PM candidate, the exception being 2009 when Congress Manmohan Singh was the incumbent PM was the obvious choice.

However, that Dwivedi, general secretary incharge of organization, chose to rubbish Digvijay's comment was seen by many as indicating that leadership keeping the door open on pitching Rahul as the PM candidate. Observers attached significance to Dwivedi's rejoinder since even an indirect hint of Rahul's projection as PM candidate might 2014 being framed "Rahul vs Modi" battle. Congress is not comfortable with such a billing for the election.

Digvijaya had on Friday said Indian political model was not "Presidential" when he hinted that party was unlikely to pitch Rahul for the top job.

Interestingly, some in the party also saw shades of upmanship in the comment and the rejoinder since the two general secretaries have rarely seen eye to eye in party affairs. While Singh is considered close to Rahul, Dwivedi has positioned himself as someone with party brass's ears.

In any case, Dwivedi's riposte saw an issue, so far considered too sensitive to be discussed in open, received full play in the popular domain.

The question however remains -- who would head the next Congress regime should the party be in position to form the government. While insiders say Rahul would take the baton, many believe it may depend on the tally the party mops up at the hustings. The 2009 score of 206 seats was more than comfortable for Rahul's ascension but a dip would mean that the party would not be able to have a dominant say in the affairs of the next non-BJP coalition and could lead to a search for other options.

Significantly, Digvijaya Singh had earlier sought to nip the repeat of Mannmohan Singh model when he called 'dual power centres' a failure and advocated that party president should hold the top job.