Rahul Gandhi can claim PM if his party wins

CPIM general secretary MA Baby said Rahul Gandhi, as Leader of Opposition, can stake a claim to the Prime Minister’s post if the opposition wins. He said the decision should come only after the election, while ruling out pre-poll speculation over leadership.

MA Baby says Rahul Gandhi has right to stake PM claim after polls.

By Shibimol KG

CPI(M)) general secretary MA Baby has said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has the right to stake a claim to the post of Prime Minister if the Opposition emerges victorious in the next general elections.

“Normally, the Leader of the Opposition generally has a right. Who should be the PM is something we should discuss after elections,” Baby said.

He said the question of who should lead the government should be decided only after the opposition secures a majority, adding that the parties would be mature enough to arrive at a decision.

“If the opposition becomes victorious, then who should be the PM is something that should be discussed post-elections,” Baby said.

Referring to the CPI(M)’s past experience, Baby recalled that the party’s Central Committee had discussed whether former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu should become Prime Minister after the United Front emerged as the largest grouping in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections.

“We won’t stake a claim. It will be ridiculous with our strength. So then, naturally, the Leader of the Opposition generally has the right to stake claim,” Baby said.

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He said the CPI(M) did not want to engage in speculation about possible leadership arrangements before the elections.

“We don’t want to engage in the exercise of evolving some hypothesis,” Baby said.

Baby also acknowledged that the name of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay has been discussed in Tamil Nadu as a possible future Prime Minister following a defeat of the BJP.

“I know in Tamil Nadu, even Joseph Vijay’s name has been discussed as a possible future PM after the defeat of BJP. That’s a different discussion and I don’t want to get into that controversy,” he said.

Baby maintained that the opposition should focus on securing a majority first, with the question of the next Prime Minister to be settled after the election results.

– Ends

Published By:

Zafar Zaidi

Source :

India Today