Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday ruled out naming her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the coming general election.
The Congress Working Committee which met in New Delhi in the evening under the leadership of Sonia decided that Rahul would only lead the party’s campaign for the general election, but would not be anointed as the PM candidate of the party.
Many in the group urged that the 43-year-old formally run for PM. But Sonia said the Congress traditionally did not name a candidate before voting is held and that Rahul would serve as the campaign chief, a decision that was then endorsed by the group.
"The Congress president declared that the next election will be fought under Rahul Gandhi's leadership," said Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi.
He also said that Rahul told the CWC that he was a dedicated soldier of the Congress and that he would perform any duty party asked him to.
The resolution adopted at today's Congress meeting will be ratified at a huge conclave tomorrow to be attended by thousands of party workers.
