Congress refusal to name PM candidate is to protect Rahul Gandhi

More than following Congress tradition, Sonia Gandhi's rejection of pleas to have her son Rahul named prime ministerial candidate is an attempt to distance him from the party's failings, analysts say.

The Congress party vice president, Rahul Gandhi, talks to his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi during an All India Congress Committee meeting in New Delhi on January 17. EPA

NEW DELHI // The decision not to name Rahul Gandhi as the ruling Congress party’s candidate for prime minister is an attempt to put some distance between him and the party’s recent failures.

Beset by corruption scandals, a reputation for inefficiency and a slowing economy, Congress is expected to be voted out of power in general elections due to be held by May.

It was widely speculated that Mr Gandhi would be named the top candidate at a party summit yesterday to provide Congress a personality it could rally behind and a familiar name to woo voters. However, Mr Gandhi’s mother, Sonia Gandhi, who is also the party president, scuppered those plans on Thursday when she said naming a candidate before the election was against party tradition.

“They don’t want to put Gandhi’s image at risk when Congress is facing one of its worst battles,” Satish Misra, a political analyst at the Observer Research Foundation, a policy group based in New Delhi, told Bloomberg. “It will not make a huge difference as they have made it clear that Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister if the party retains power.”

Indeed, Mr Gandhi suggested strongly at the summit yesterday that he would be the top choice for the post if his party won.

In a fiery 45-minute speech, Mr Gandhi said: “I have always said that I am a loyal soldier of this party and will take up any responsibility that you want me to take up.”

His speech was greeted with rapturous applause from party workers.

Ms Gandhi gave the final speech of the day, but even as she was winding up, Congress activists rushed the stage, attempting to shake Mr Gandhi’s hand, chanting “Rahul for PM”.

Ms Gandhi’s decision not to announce her son as a candidate also revealed a rift within the party, said Sushant Singh, a Mumbai-based political analyst.

An old guard of politicians within the Congress is apprehensive that, in a party under Mr Gandhi’s leadership, they will be sidelined in favour of Mr Gandhi’s own colleagues.

“There is more internal politics than we see here,” Mr Singh said. “I think Ms Gandhi’s sense of loyalty towards that old guard has played some role in this decision.”

Mr Singh agreed that Mr Gandhi would lead the country if Congress wins at the polls.

“If they win, by some stroke of fortune, I think they’ll make him the prime minister.”

The main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has already named its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. While Mr Modi is accused by critics of turning a blind eye to savage anti-Muslim riots in his state in 2002, the BJP’s campaign has focused on his 13 years as Gujarat’s chief minister and his ability to turn the state into an economic powerhouse.

A survey last week said that only 14 per cent of voters believe Mr Gandhi would make the best prime minister while 58 per cent opted for Mr Modi.

A BJP party spokesman said Congress’s decision not to name a candidate was a sign of weakness.

“I think it’s a recognition of reality,” Arun Jaitley said on Friday. “Since the Congress knows they won’t form the government, why announce a potential leader?”

Despite a tough road ahead, Mr Gandhi, who will run Congress’s campaign for the general election, told his party’s faithful that he would not back down.

“We will go into this battle as warriors with our heads held high. We will go into battle knowing exactly who we are and what we stand for. We will not stop till the battle is won.”