Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: As pressure is mounting on the Congress to name its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 General Elections, party leader Oscar Fernandes on Thursday said that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has never wished to become prime minister.
Speaking to media, Fernandes said that Sonia neither wanted to join politics nor aspired to become prime minister of the country. She, however, entered the political arena only when the Congress was in deep trouble, he added.
The Congress leader said that if Sonia wanted to become the PM she could have easily taken the chair after her husband Rajiv Gandhi’s death. “The party had tried to convince her to take the PM’s post, but she refused,” Fernandes said.
The Congress has been facing uncomfortable questions over Rahul Gandhi’s performance as the election campaign head, since the dismal performance of the party in the recently held Assembly Elections in four states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.
While Bharatiya Janata Party’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s has rejuvenated the party and attracted the electorate, especially the youth, Rahul has repeatedly failed to prove his mettle in swinging the votes in party’s favour.
The recent remarks of the Congress president on the party`s PM candidate generated speculation on whether her son and party Rahul would be named for the top job.
"We have not made any statement. Well, the party has to decide it. The party will decide at the opportune time," she told reporters when asked whether Rahul would be named the party`s PM candidate in the Lok Sabha polls.
