NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he is ready to become the Prime Minister if his party emerges as the "biggest" party in the 2019 general elections.
"Well, it depends....it depends on how well the Congress does in the election....I mean if it emerges as the biggest party, yes," Gandhi said, when asked during an interaction in Bengaluru if he would be the next Prime Minister.
If the Congress acts as a "platform" (with other parties in a coalition), the BJP does not stand a chance of winning the elections, he said at a function where he launched the "Samruddha Bharat Foundation".
Most political parties reacted cautiously, except for the BJP, which as expected, mocked the Congress president.
NCP
NCP, an alliance partner of the Congress, said there was nothing wrong in the Gandhi scion’s remarks. The party, which was part of the UPA government from 2004 to 2014, is expected to ally again with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
NCP national spokesman Nawab Malik said there was nothing to object to Gandhi's statement.
"If people decide to entrust the Congress with the job of ruling the country, he (Rahul Gandhi) will be the prime ministerial candidate," he quoted on PTI.
Malik said NCP party chief Sharad Pawar had ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race earlier since the party contests fewer seats and has a limited number of MPs.
CPI
CPI leader D Raja, meanwhile, said the time now was for all secular parties to come together.He stressed it was important for all such parties to unite to thwart a common enemy — the BJP.
TDP
The TDP, which only recently exited the NDA over the issue of special status to to Andhra Pradesh, appeared to be playing its cards close to its chest. Any individual can have an ambition, party spokesperson Lanka Dinakaran remarked, adding that it was up to the people of the country to decide whose ambitions were realised.
Shiv Sena
NDA partner Shiv Sena made it clear an alliance with the Congress was out of the question, even though it would not continue to be part of the NDA in 2019. Party spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “Rahul still has a long way to go. We (Shiv Sena) are contesting on our own. We will not tie up with anyone. An alliance with the Congress is out of the question.”
JDU
JDU leader K C Tyagi said Rahul’s first challenge was to win Amethi. Only then would a decision be made on who would be the leader -- Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar or someone else. He claimed that for the Congress, Rahul may be the only option, but that wasn’t the case for other political parties.
BJP
Predictably, the BJP said Rahul’s statement came “with a sense of amusement.” Spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "As far as Rahul Gandhi's desire to become the Prime Minister is concerned, that comes with a sense of amusement to us.
"It has an entertainment value... He, earlier as the vice president of the party, had been responsible for Congress election disaster and as president of Congress also. Election after election, a string of elections, he has lost for the Congress," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
CHIDDU CHOR
He added Rahul Gandhi would go down in history as the party leader who has faced the highest number of defeats. "The PM is right about Rahul, this election is a fight between 'naamdars' and 'kaamdars'," Patra said.
SOURCE : TIMES OF INDIA
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"Well, it depends....it depends on how well the Congress does in the election....I mean if it emerges as the biggest party, yes," Gandhi said, when asked during an interaction in Bengaluru if he would be the next Prime Minister.
If the Congress acts as a "platform" (with other parties in a coalition), the BJP does not stand a chance of winning the elections, he said at a function where he launched the "Samruddha Bharat Foundation".
Most political parties reacted cautiously, except for the BJP, which as expected, mocked the Congress president.
NCP
NCP, an alliance partner of the Congress, said there was nothing wrong in the Gandhi scion’s remarks. The party, which was part of the UPA government from 2004 to 2014, is expected to ally again with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
NCP national spokesman Nawab Malik said there was nothing to object to Gandhi's statement.
"If people decide to entrust the Congress with the job of ruling the country, he (Rahul Gandhi) will be the prime ministerial candidate," he quoted on PTI.
Malik said NCP party chief Sharad Pawar had ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race earlier since the party contests fewer seats and has a limited number of MPs.
CPI
CPI leader D Raja, meanwhile, said the time now was for all secular parties to come together.He stressed it was important for all such parties to unite to thwart a common enemy — the BJP.
TDP
The TDP, which only recently exited the NDA over the issue of special status to to Andhra Pradesh, appeared to be playing its cards close to its chest. Any individual can have an ambition, party spokesperson Lanka Dinakaran remarked, adding that it was up to the people of the country to decide whose ambitions were realised.
Shiv Sena
NDA partner Shiv Sena made it clear an alliance with the Congress was out of the question, even though it would not continue to be part of the NDA in 2019. Party spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “Rahul still has a long way to go. We (Shiv Sena) are contesting on our own. We will not tie up with anyone. An alliance with the Congress is out of the question.”
JDU
JDU leader K C Tyagi said Rahul’s first challenge was to win Amethi. Only then would a decision be made on who would be the leader -- Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar or someone else. He claimed that for the Congress, Rahul may be the only option, but that wasn’t the case for other political parties.
BJP
Predictably, the BJP said Rahul’s statement came “with a sense of amusement.” Spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "As far as Rahul Gandhi's desire to become the Prime Minister is concerned, that comes with a sense of amusement to us.
"It has an entertainment value... He, earlier as the vice president of the party, had been responsible for Congress election disaster and as president of Congress also. Election after election, a string of elections, he has lost for the Congress," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
CHIDDU CHOR
He added Rahul Gandhi would go down in history as the party leader who has faced the highest number of defeats. "The PM is right about Rahul, this election is a fight between 'naamdars' and 'kaamdars'," Patra said.
SOURCE : TIMES OF INDIA
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Our Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/kingofpolitics1/
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