Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh on Friday said that the time has come to announce Rahul Gandhi’s name as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Congress.
“It’s the right time to project Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Congress. When will the announcement be made, if not now, after the elections?” asked Virbhadra Singh.
“He is the vice president of the party now and is eligible for the prime ministerial post. I think the right time has come to announce his name,” he said.
Expecting an announcement on the prime ministerial candidate soon, the Congress on Monday said the party workers were looking forward to the All India Congress Committee meet, and, would be happy if party vice-president Rahul Gandhi is projected.
Meanwhile the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday sidelined the matter as an internal matter of the Congress.
Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "It is an internal matter of the Congress. Who they choose as prime minister or its candidate, has to be decided by them. They choose their candidate on-deputation or by appointing a member from the dynasty. These are the only two options in front of them.
"Today, the nation is not worried about the prime ministerial candidate; instead people want to know what was achieved from misgovernance of the Congress," Naqvi added.
The Congress ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said the party will wait for announcement to be made of the PM candidate.
NCP leader Tariq Anwar said, "According to the rules of a coalition, the bigger party decides its candidate for the PM's post. Then accordingly, the other parties support the candidate. Right now, only discussion has been initiated. Let the announcement be made.
The AICC on Monday announced that a meet is scheduled on December 17 to discuss its 2014 Lok Sabha election strategy.
According to television reports, the Congress Party is likely to name its prime ministerial candidate during the meeting, which will be presided by party president Sonia Gandhi.
The last AICC meeting was held at Jaipur earlier this year, and it saw Rahul Gandhi being elevated to the position of party vice president.
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