The Congress will not declare Rahul Gandhi as its Prime Minister candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, senior party leader Digvijay Singh hinted Friday while dismissing suggestions that the BJP’s projection of Narendra Modi was a challenge.
He also did not say whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could be a candidate for PM once again if the party wins next year’s general election.
“We do not have a presidential form of government. The Congress does not declare Prime Minister or chief minister candidates before elections... Even in the Karnataka Assembly elections, we had not declared any CM candidate,” Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh also indicated the Congress was not averse to doing business with the Left after the election.
Asked about the BJP’s elevation of Mr Modi as its poll campaign chief, a step short of announcing him as its Prime Minister candidate, Mr Singh said: “We are not concerned. It is not an issue. The BJP is free to take any decision. We’re in the politics of ideology and not personality... The Congress doesn’t believe in the politics of polarisation.”