Rahul Gandhi is an able leader: Pranab Mukherjee

Former president of India and ex-Congress leader, Pranab Mukherjee today said that Rahul Gandhi is an able leader and he is doing everything that a leader should do.

His comments came soon after it became clear that the Gandhi scion is likely to be elected as the next president of the Congress party next month.

"He is working very hard. One of the qualification of a top leader is to have the capacity to reach the people, communicate with them... and if a leader can do that then he is successful."


"And Rahul is just doing that. He is trying to reach the people. He is reaching the people and establishing a rapport with them."

If elected, which looks almost certain, Rahul will be the sixth member of Nehru-Gandhi family to lead Congress, after Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Pranab also said that the Congress party can revive its fortunes.

A political party which is committed to the welfare of the people can never be erased off, he said.

Without naming BJP, Mukherjee said: "Electoral battle failure and success are inevitable in the parliamentary form of government. In India we have seen it ourselves. In 1984 a political party had just two Lok Sabha seats. In 1998, within 14 years, that political party formed the government. Therefore, these type of electoral reverses take place more than often in parliamentary democracy. Rate of motility in parliamentary democracy is always very high."