NEW DELHI: Two days after BSP chief Mayawati rebuffed Congress for an alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Congress president
Rahul Gandhi exuded confidence that the two parties would join hands for the 2019 elections even as he said he could consider being PM if allies backed the idea.
Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit on Friday, Rahul said, “Alliance in states and alliance at the Centre are two different things and Mayawati has sort of indicated that. In national elections, the parties (BSP, Congress) will come together. That is the indication we have.”
He also responded to questions over leadership of a prospective
opposition alliance, saying he was a likely PM candidate if Congress’s allies were agreeable, pointing out that this was a two-step process — winning the elections and deciding the leader.
This is not the first time Rahul has expressed willingness to be PM.
Addressing students at the University of California in Berkeley in September last year, he had said he was “absolutely ready” to be the party’s prime ministerial candidate. While campaigning for the Karnataka elections earlier this year, again responding to questions, he had said he was ready to be PM if Congress was the biggest party after the Lok Sabha polls.
Interestingly, in her press conference on Wednesday where she announced that BSP would go it alone in Madhya Pradesh, Mayawati targeted state Congress functionaries but added that Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were honest in their efforts for a tie-up.
About the failure of the two parties to arrive at a compromise, the Congress chief defended his party while also indicating his own eagerness to strike the deal. “We were flexible in states (about seat-sharing). In fact, I was more flexible than some of our state leaders. We were amid talks when they (BSP) decided to go their own way,” he said.
At the same time, he said BSP’s decision would not hurt Congress’s prospects in the assembly polls and the party would win the three BJP-ruled states where elections are due.
Confident of opposition parties joining hands against BJP, Rahul said the prime ministerial candidate would be picked after elections. “We have had discussions with allies and what we decided is that this is a two-stage process. Stage one is to get together and defeat BJP and stage two is once the election is over then we will decide what happens,” he said.
Asked if he would accept the prime ministership if the allies so decide, Rahul said, “If they (allies) want me, sure I will.” Asked about his temple run, Rahul said he had always visited temples but they were being talked about since the Gujarat elections because “I guess BJP doesn’t like it. It infuriates them. BJP feels only they can go to temples. They have a sense of monopoly.”
