Rahul Gandhi will be the PM candidate in 2019: Bihar Congress

Stating that the party wants Rahul Gandhi to lead an alternative front to challenge Narendra Modi in the general election of 2019, Bihar Congress on Monday said he will be the only prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha polls.

Every Congressmen and sympathiser of the party believe that Rahul Gandhi is the prime ministerial candidate of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He will be the only prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha elections,” Bihar Congress chief Ashok Choudhary told reporters here.

Asked whether the party wants Gandhi to lead an alternative front in 2019, Choudhary, also the state education minister, said, “We certainly want Rahul Gandhi to lead front comprising leaders like Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and all other leaders having secular views.”

Choudhary had yesterday stirred a hornet’s nest at a joint press conference of the ruling Grand Alliance by his assertions on Rahul Gandhi which created an embarrassing situation for the allies, especially JD(U).

Congress’ assertion has virtually put a spanner in JD(U)’s efforts to project Kumar as prime ministerial candidate in 2019.

When pointed out that Kumar has been touring various states to expand his party’s base and to be considered as the PM candidate, Bihar Congress chief said, “Kumar is undertaking tours of various states but that does not mean that he is doing it to become PM candidate. He (Kumar) has never said that he is a candidate for PM’s post.”

In reply to a query on why the allies - RJD and JD(U) do not want to talk on the issue, Choudhary said it was because “There is no confusion in Congress while there is utter confusion in third front, fourth front, fifth front.”