Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in response to a question on who would be India’s next prime minister if the Congress wins 2109 elections, said, “If they (allies) want me, sure,” he said.
He was speaking at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Friday.
While slamming the BJP, Gandhi said that the Opposition has decided to defeat the Modi government in the upcoming general elections and then choose who will handle the top post. When probed further if he would take the position if the allies agree, he said: “Sure.”
While speaking about the difference between the Congress and the BJP, he said “India is a partnership between all its peoples” and the Congress “didn’t believe in binaries”.
While talking about Mayawati’s decision to not have an alliance with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Rahul said the move will not impact the party’s prospects in the states. However, he did not rule out an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “I don’t see the BSP alliance impacting us much in Madhya Pradesh,” Gandhi said.
He also said he was confident of winning the state elections of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh which will be held later this year.
Adding that an alliance would have been better, Gandhi said he was “more flexible than some state leaders.”
“The alliance in state and the alliance in the Centre are very different…Mayawatiji has indicated that. We were pretty flexible in the state, in fact, I was more flexible than some of our state leaders,” Gandhi said, suggesting that both the parties might come together for an alliance during the Lok Sabha elections.
“I think in national elections parties will come together particularly in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
