12-30-2003, 04:41 AM
<!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> <b>What a shame ? They can't find anyone else</b>
Sonia is our prime choice, says Cong <!--emo&:devil--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devilsmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='devilsmiley.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Pioneer News Service/ New Delhi
The Congress Party on Monday emphatically said there was no change in its position adopted at the Shimla conclave and party president Ms Sonia Gandhi would continue to be its candidate for the post of the Prime Minister. Responding to questions that arose after Ms Gandhi's Press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, the party's chief spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy said: "Ms Gandhi is the Congress candidate for the Prime Minister's post. As far as the leader of the alternative coalition after the election is concerned, it will be decided in consultation with other parties."
But in response to another question as to whether the Congress was ready to support a Third Front Government, Mr Reddy said: "The Congress will emerge as the single largest party and naturally its leader will lead the coalition. There is no question of supporting the Third Front."
Asked for his views on senior CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu's observations that there was not much scope for a Third Front, Mr Reddy said: "He is right. The political scenario in the country does not leave much space for the Third Front."
Other senior leaders, supposed to be part of the party's think tank, explain in off-the-record conversations that Ms Gandhi had only stated the obvious, that the Prime Minister will be decided by the people of the country, and that should not be construed as dilution of her claim to the top post. They say the Congress was not so foolish as to take this suicidal step of injecting any element of self-doubt into Ms Gandhi's capabilities when the election are so near.
Ms Gandhi, senior leaders say, could not have said, "I will be the leader of the coalition" at this juncture. They, to the contrary, claim that Ms Gandhi had asserted her leadership by publicly snubbing those who want the Congress to change its leader. "We don't want to create hurdles by arrogant rhetoric. But there is no substantive change and she will be projected as Prime Minister," a CWC member stressed.
Congress leaders argue that the selection of the Prime Minister was a matter of pure arithmetic after the election. They say if the Congress does not get a good number of seats, the question of her staking a claim does not arise, but nobody can stop her if the numbers add up in Congress support.
In fact, what the Congress leaders are not talking about is the slight change in atmospherics brought about by the poor performance at the recent Assembly polls. At the Shimla conclave, the Congress leaders hoped that a good show in the 'semi-final' will help the Congress assert over its prospective partners. They knew a drubbing will change the backdrop against which the General Election will be contested and in that case the leadership will have to show "strategic flexibility" in accommodating the allies. Even on the question of the leader of the coalition, the party agrees a good show in the Assembly election would have ensured a greater degree of finality about Ms Gandhi's acceptability.
This plan has certainly come cropper, making the Congress seek out for partners and appear less stubborn on the leadership question. But, at the same time, senior leaders point out that none of the potential allies had raised objections to Ms Gandhi's leadership and the NCP, which was formed on this very issue, had also agreed to set it aside until the elections.
"We can't force Mr Pawar to accept Ms Gandhi as Prime Minister but his willingness to fight the BJP in alliance with the Congress is a welcome development. He is right in saying that the leadership issue will be decided later," a party MP said. Mr Reddy also dismissed the statement of senior Karnataka leader Jaffer Shareif as a "personal opinion" not shared by the Congress. He had said on Sunday that Ms Gandhi should not be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate.
Sonia is our prime choice, says Cong <!--emo&:devil--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devilsmiley.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='devilsmiley.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Pioneer News Service/ New Delhi
The Congress Party on Monday emphatically said there was no change in its position adopted at the Shimla conclave and party president Ms Sonia Gandhi would continue to be its candidate for the post of the Prime Minister. Responding to questions that arose after Ms Gandhi's Press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, the party's chief spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy said: "Ms Gandhi is the Congress candidate for the Prime Minister's post. As far as the leader of the alternative coalition after the election is concerned, it will be decided in consultation with other parties."
But in response to another question as to whether the Congress was ready to support a Third Front Government, Mr Reddy said: "The Congress will emerge as the single largest party and naturally its leader will lead the coalition. There is no question of supporting the Third Front."
Asked for his views on senior CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu's observations that there was not much scope for a Third Front, Mr Reddy said: "He is right. The political scenario in the country does not leave much space for the Third Front."
Other senior leaders, supposed to be part of the party's think tank, explain in off-the-record conversations that Ms Gandhi had only stated the obvious, that the Prime Minister will be decided by the people of the country, and that should not be construed as dilution of her claim to the top post. They say the Congress was not so foolish as to take this suicidal step of injecting any element of self-doubt into Ms Gandhi's capabilities when the election are so near.
Ms Gandhi, senior leaders say, could not have said, "I will be the leader of the coalition" at this juncture. They, to the contrary, claim that Ms Gandhi had asserted her leadership by publicly snubbing those who want the Congress to change its leader. "We don't want to create hurdles by arrogant rhetoric. But there is no substantive change and she will be projected as Prime Minister," a CWC member stressed.
Congress leaders argue that the selection of the Prime Minister was a matter of pure arithmetic after the election. They say if the Congress does not get a good number of seats, the question of her staking a claim does not arise, but nobody can stop her if the numbers add up in Congress support.
In fact, what the Congress leaders are not talking about is the slight change in atmospherics brought about by the poor performance at the recent Assembly polls. At the Shimla conclave, the Congress leaders hoped that a good show in the 'semi-final' will help the Congress assert over its prospective partners. They knew a drubbing will change the backdrop against which the General Election will be contested and in that case the leadership will have to show "strategic flexibility" in accommodating the allies. Even on the question of the leader of the coalition, the party agrees a good show in the Assembly election would have ensured a greater degree of finality about Ms Gandhi's acceptability.
This plan has certainly come cropper, making the Congress seek out for partners and appear less stubborn on the leadership question. But, at the same time, senior leaders point out that none of the potential allies had raised objections to Ms Gandhi's leadership and the NCP, which was formed on this very issue, had also agreed to set it aside until the elections.
"We can't force Mr Pawar to accept Ms Gandhi as Prime Minister but his willingness to fight the BJP in alliance with the Congress is a welcome development. He is right in saying that the leadership issue will be decided later," a party MP said. Mr Reddy also dismissed the statement of senior Karnataka leader Jaffer Shareif as a "personal opinion" not shared by the Congress. He had said on Sunday that Ms Gandhi should not be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate.