Congress shies away from endorsing Manmohan Singh as next PM
A day after UPA constituent NCP mooted the idea of making Mr Manmohan Singh UPA’s prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections, the Congress characteristically shied away from backing the suggestion.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: A day after UPA constituent NCP mooted the idea of making Mr Manmohan Singh UPA���s prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections, the Congress characteristically shied away from backing the suggestion.
The party evaded a direct answer to whether it backed the NCP proposal, instead claiming that it was Congress tradition to name the prime ministerial candidate only after the elections.
However, with general secretary Rahul Gandhi being seen as a future prime minister of the party, if not the next, the Congress is clearly grappling at the moment with how to respond to questions about the status of the incumbent, Mr Singh.
Asked by mediapersons on whether the Congress supported the NCP���s suggestion, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said the party did not lack ���established and seasoned��� leaders and while it was happy that allies were ���liking��� Mr Singh���s way of running the government, the question of projecting anyone as PM would arise only after elections. On being further questioned, Mr Ahmed said that the matter would be ���decided at the time of the elections���.
In response to the same question, two days back, another Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan had said: ���We have an incumbent PM....When the next elections come you will know (who is the next PM)���.
The Congress response of not backing Mr Singh���s candidature outright is noteworthy as the party usually throws its weight behind the incumbent leader ��� in most cases a CM ��� even though it does not announce its chief ministerial candidate.
Asked by mediapersons, how the Congress could talk of a tradition of not naming prime ministerial figures till after elections when there was no doubt about candidature of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Mr Ahmed said that they were tall leaders who had been perceived in that fashion by the people.
The Congress��� dodging of the issue will be contrasted with the NCP���s attitude towards the PM by the Opposition BJP which has in any case made its attack on Mr Manmohan Singh as a ���soft PM��� as one of its election issues. NCP chief spokesman D P Tripathi had told agencies on Thursday: ���Manmohan Singh has functioned in a most democratic manner heading the coalition and he is honest, transparent and there is no controversy against him���.
He added that the coalition government especially needed a Prime Minister like Mr Singh. Asked about Mr Gandhi, Mr Tripathi remarked ���Let the Congress first take a decision about Rahul. As far as NCP is concerned, we offer our best wishes���. Mr Pawar had recently suggested that the UPA should fight the next Lok Sabha polls collectively.
The party evaded a direct answer to whether it backed the NCP proposal, instead claiming that it was Congress tradition to name the prime ministerial candidate only after the elections.
However, with general secretary Rahul Gandhi being seen as a future prime minister of the party, if not the next, the Congress is clearly grappling at the moment with how to respond to questions about the status of the incumbent, Mr Singh.
Asked by mediapersons on whether the Congress supported the NCP���s suggestion, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said the party did not lack ���established and seasoned��� leaders and while it was happy that allies were ���liking��� Mr Singh���s way of running the government, the question of projecting anyone as PM would arise only after elections. On being further questioned, Mr Ahmed said that the matter would be ���decided at the time of the elections���.
In response to the same question, two days back, another Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan had said: ���We have an incumbent PM....When the next elections come you will know (who is the next PM)���.
The Congress response of not backing Mr Singh���s candidature outright is noteworthy as the party usually throws its weight behind the incumbent leader ��� in most cases a CM ��� even though it does not announce its chief ministerial candidate.
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Asked by mediapersons, how the Congress could talk of a tradition of not naming prime ministerial figures till after elections when there was no doubt about candidature of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Mr Ahmed said that they were tall leaders who had been perceived in that fashion by the people.
The Congress��� dodging of the issue will be contrasted with the NCP���s attitude towards the PM by the Opposition BJP which has in any case made its attack on Mr Manmohan Singh as a ���soft PM��� as one of its election issues. NCP chief spokesman D P Tripathi had told agencies on Thursday: ���Manmohan Singh has functioned in a most democratic manner heading the coalition and he is honest, transparent and there is no controversy against him���.
He added that the coalition government especially needed a Prime Minister like Mr Singh. Asked about Mr Gandhi, Mr Tripathi remarked ���Let the Congress first take a decision about Rahul. As far as NCP is concerned, we offer our best wishes���. Mr Pawar had recently suggested that the UPA should fight the next Lok Sabha polls collectively.
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