Diggy bats for Rahul as PM

Venkat Parsa New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi-for-Prime Minister chorus has once again been re-ignited by AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, with an eye on the General Elections in 2014. The Congress sees Rahul Gandhi as the trump card. The party feels that since he is youthful, the people will give Rahul Gandhi one chance at least in 2014, like Rajiv Gandhi got in 1984, if he is projected as the Congress Prime Ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi's recent statement that Prime Minister's post is not his priority and that he believes in long-term politics was interpreted to mean that he was reluctant to take the plunge. Digvijay Singh asserted that nowhere has Rahul Gandhi said that he would not like to be the Prime Minister. Digvijay Singh on Tuesday said, "What is being reported in the press has caused some misconception. If the people of the country want, then why won't he become the PM candidate?" Digvijay Singh has sought to scotch all such speculation by declaring that Rahul Gandhi is mature enough to handle the intricacies of coalition politics and that he should not opt to nominate a Prime Minister if the party gets a majority in the next Lok Sabha polls. The party is apprehensive that if the signal goes out that Rahul Gandhi is not yet ready for the larger role, the party may lose its electoral advantage. Digvijay Singh only articulated the desire of the majority of the Congressmen, who feel that Rahul Gandhi's projection as the Congress Prime Ministerial candidate will only help the party and even beat the anti-incumbency. For the first time in recent years, the posts of Prime Minister and Congress President, which has been traditionally held by the same person in the Nehru-Gandhi family, at least during 1980-84, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister and Congress President and again from 1984-89, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister and Congress President. It was separated during the UPA Government formed in 2004, when Congress President Sonia Gandhi largely confined herself to political management, leaving governance to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In a sense, the mechanism of the Congress Core Group was devised to bridge the gap. Digvijay Singh has expressed the view that such an arrangement does not augur well for the party. "I personally feel that there should not be two power centres. I strongly feel that when time comes and if the Congress gets majority or it is in a position to form the government, I think Rahul Gandhi should take the call," remarked Digvijay Singh. During the tenure of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, the AICC Session in Surajkund in 1993 made an exception for Congress President holding the post of Prime minister, while enforcing one-man, one-post principle for all others. If Rahul Gandhi takes over as Prime Minister and becomes the Congress President, there would be no two-power centres. This would be important for the Congress to restore centralized command.