Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that Rahul Gandhi is his choice to be the next Prime Minister if the INDIA bloc alliance wins the Lok Sabha elections, stating that he represents the youth and the entire country.
“Rahul Gandhi is my choice to be Prime Minister. He represents the youth, and length and breadth of the country,” Kharge said in an interview with NDTV.
He, however, emphasised that since the bloc has decided to fight together, the coalition will jointly decide on the PM candidate after winning the polls — with June 4 being the counting and results day of this year’s general elections.
“The bloc has decided we are fighting together. After winning the coalition will jointly decide who will be PM,” the Congress chief stated.
Kharge also mentioned that he wanted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to make her electoral debut in this year’s election, but she chose not to, and her brother Rahul stood instead, while she managed his campaign.
“I wanted Priyanka to contest, but Rahul needed someone to be his campaign manager, since he was also campaigning across the country,” he said.
‘Congress Has Already Crossed 100-seat Mark’
Kharge also expressed confidence that the Congress, along with other parties in the INDIA bloc, will prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from winning a third consecutive term.
“From the reports we have received, we are sure that we will stop BJP from coming back to power. We believe that Congress has already crossed the 100-seat mark and are hoping to win 128 seats,” he added.
The senior Congress leader’s interview comes a day ahead of the seventh and final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, set for June 1 on Saturday.
Party To take A Call On His Prime Ministerial Bid
Additionally during the interview, when asked if he would also be a Prime Ministerial candidate as recommended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and supported by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Kharge said, “How can I propose my own name? The Congress party will take a call. Alliance parties might have named me, but in our party, we will sit together and decide… there is a process like in 2004 or 2009.”
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that if the Opposition INDIA bloc secures a majority to form a government, the alliance plans to appoint five Prime Ministers with one PM every year.
“If the INDIA bloc gets a majority to form the Union government for the entire term, it is planning to have five Prime Ministers with one PM each year,” PM Modi had said during a rally in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur on May 25.
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