Posted on 05/18/2004 4:05:02 AM PDT by AM2000
Congress party President Sonia Gandhi has refused to become the next prime minister.
Confirming this, a senior Congress official told rediff.com, "There is a gadbad (problem). Sonia Gandhi is refusing to become the prime minister. She wants to back out."
What about a change of heart at a later stage? "Woh maan nahin rahi hai (she is not willing to listen)," the Congress leader said.
According to highly reliable sources in the Congress, she has told her top leaders in unambiguous term that she will not head the new government.
Unless Congress leaders and the party's allies persuade her to accept the PM's post, the Congress' choice for prime minister will be announced later this evening.
The front-runners are two former finance ministers -- Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh.
The option of a non-Congress leader is not under consideration, a party source said.
The source said she has been reluctant to don the mantle since the election results were announced, and had spent a considerable amount of time consulting a cross-section of opinion. Obviously, she does not want to weaken the new government over the opposition to her foreign origin.
Sonia Gandhi had intended to read out a letter refusing to accept the nation's highest executive office at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on May 15.
Yes, this is very gadbadatic.
Possibly she fears assassination?
That's my guess too.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......'INS'....problems?
So why run if you won't serve if you win????
ping
Oooh! I'll do it!
(Outsource that gig over here!)
It's a Parliamentary system - she didn't actually run for Prime Minister, no one did. The MP's of the party that wins the most seats elects the PM after the elections are over. She's asking not to be elected for that position.
Apparently after the election she finally received that coveted job offer from Dell customer service.
Not excactly a steadfast leader is she?
errr.. it is a parliamentary form of democracy, not Presidential. The leader of the Party could b distinct from the Prime Ministerial candidate. This would be good-- if the finance minister who initiated India's reforms -- that Singh guy, becomes PM
True, but would her party have won if it was known she'd refuse to become PM?
Thanks for explaining the parliamentary system to me. I guess I phrased the question poorly. The leader of a party will assume the prime minister's post if the party gains the majority of seats. So, why be a party leader if you don't want to be PM upon winning. I don't recall any party leader resigning after they win an election.
Bingo!
Thanks for explaining the parliamentary system to me. I have a passing knowledge of it. I guess I phrased the question poorly. The leader of a party will assume the prime minister's post if the party gains the majority of seats. So, why be a party leader if you don't want to be PM upon winning. I don't recall any party leader resigning after they win an election.
As speculation mounted over Sonia Gandhi's reluctance to accept the prime minister's post, the Congress on Tuesday dismissed the reports as 'plain rumours.'
Congress spokesman Tom Vadakkan said: "This is just speculation. I have not heard officially of anything of this sort."
Probably. Her party won because urban middle-class turnout was lower than usual and the rural poor was angry at the BJP. Sonia had nothing to do with her own victory.
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