No ‘Gandhigiri’ During Congress Poll Campaign? Rahul Won’t Be PM Candidate, Says P Chidambaram 

P Chidambaram, former finance minister on the UPA government, has stated that Congress will not project any leader, not even Rahul Gandhi, as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming 2019 general elections, reported News18.

This comes in the backdrop of Congress’ attempts to construct a mega-alliance with regional parties to take on the BJP-led NDA alliance. However, several parties including the BSP and SP expressed reservations with this plan and refused to play second fiddle to Congress which occupies less than 10 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha currently.

“We never said that we want Rahul Gandhi to be prime minister. When few Congressmen were talking about it, the AICC intervened and stop such talk. We want the BJP to be ousted. In its place, we want to see an alternative government which is progressive, respects freedom of individuals, doesn’t indulge in tax terrorism, gives protection to women and children, and uplifts farmers,” Chidambaram added.

Noting that the changing face of Indian politics since the liberalisation reforms of the 1990s, he observed that regional parties are playing a more significant role in the electoral politics of the Indian subcontinent.

“We want an alliance to be formed. The Prime minister will be decided by the alliance partners after the election,” he said.