Rahul Gandhi will lead the Congress from the front in the 2014 general election. This was officially made clear by the party on Monday, ending all speculation on who would be the Congress’ prime ministerial candidate.
“Rahul Gandhi is gong to lead the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He will be taking a big responsibility in the party soon,” party spokesperson P.C. Chacko said at a press conference here.
Asked about the roles of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Chacko said: “Sonia Gandhi is the party president now, she will be the patron. She will be the supreme leader of the party.”
He added: “Dr Manmohan Singh will be at the helm till 2014... He is the Prime Minister till 2014.”
Responding to questions, Mr Chacko said Rahul agreed to assume more responsibilities after “overwhelming” demands by partymen. Mr Gandhi, who virtually heads the party’s six-member election coordination committee, recently attended a meeting of the UPA coordination committee.
The Congress’ electoral line and its strategy on alliances could become clear at its two-day “chintan shivir” (brainstorming session) planned in Jaipur on January 18 and 19, and the AICC meeting there on January 20.
The Congress has made it clear that it will be fighting the coming general election as part of a coalition, with party strategists declaring that there will be a “UPA-3”. Coalition politics, they said, had come to stay in India.
Congress sources said there could be both pre-poll and post-poll allies, while at some places an alliance could be state-specific.