India: Party's Battle Cry Without A PM Candidate

By Neville Lazarus, Asia Producer

India's ruling Congress party has decided that Rahul Gandhi will head its campaign for the forthcoming elections - but fell short of naming him as its prime ministerial candidate.

His mother Sonia Gandhi, president of the party, said the decision had been made in keeping with the tradition of the Congress party not to name a PM candidate, adding that it did not need to ape other parties

She was interrupted several times as she insisted the decision would not be reversed.

The ruling Congress party had been expected to nominate vice president Rahul Gandhi as its choice for PM but instead he will head the party's campaign for May's poll.

During Ms Gandhi's speech to supporters in Delhi, several people shouted "Rahul for PM" and at the meeting some party members applauded him.

But many believe that this is a face-saving exercise to preserve the leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as the fortunes of the Congress party are not looking good this time.  

The party's president Sonia Gandhi

The mood in the country has changed against the Congress-led government.

In state elections that took place last month, the party suffered in four of the significant North Indian states.

And in Delhi, the 15-year-old Congress government was decimated by the Aam Adami Party, or the Common Man's party, which was formed just a year ago.

The government is reeling under economic slowdown. Growth has come down from double digits to just over 5% and inflation and unemployment are on the rise. Many believe there is a policy paralysis within the government.

But what plagues the government most is the enormous corruption scandals that have been revealed on an almost weekly basis.

The controversy has even tainted the high echelons of the squeaky clean Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is retiring after two terms in office.

Though he has not been accused of corruption directly, his critics say he heads a government which is entrenched in corruption.

Many senior leaders of the party have clamoured for Rahul Gandhi to be made the candidate on the grounds that it will enthuse the workers.

Narendra Modi is the PM candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party

But he has been reluctant to take on the responsibility, saying "power is poison" and instead has concentrated on strengthening the party.

There has also been opposition within the Congress party to Mr Gandhi being the PM candidate because the party's chances are not bright and a debut failure could further dim the chances of his leadership.

He would be held responsible for the loss and that may dent his claims when the next elections come.

He is pitted against the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Narendra Modi, who has won four successive terms as chief minister of the northwestern state of Gujarat.

Mr Modi, a firebrand, is seen by many as a polarising figure in Indian politics.

Under his watch, communal riots took place in Gujarat in 2002 where an estimated 1,500 people were killed and thousands left homeless in a week-long pogrom carried out by the majority Hindu community against Muslims.

Mr Modi is alleged to have turned a blind eye to the clashes for political reasons.

The-then BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Bajpai had chided the chief minister and asked him to follow "Raj Dharam" or ethics of governance and make no difference between people of different religion, caste or creed.

Though he has been cleared by a special investigation team established by the Supreme Court of India, many believe Mr Modi is tainted and much of the evidence in the investigations against him was suppressed.

The order has been challenged.

Mr Gandhi,43, has been an MP for the last 10 years. His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first prime minister of India after British rule ended in 1947.

Grandmother Indira Gandhi was one of the longest-serving prime ministers, his father Rajiv Gandhi took over after her assassination by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. Rajiv himself was assassinated in 1991.

Italian-born Sonia Gandhi has been the president of Congress for the past 16 years. When the party won in 2004 she was offered the role of prime minister but instead handed to role to Dr Singh.

He stayed on in its second term in 2009. But many believe Sonia was the real power as the head of the Congress party and has remained unchallenged.

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