NEW DELHI, 1 May 2004 — Alarmed by the increasing number of claimants for the country’s top job, the Congress party said yesterday its chief, Sonia Gandhi, would be its choice for prime minister if it wins a tight national election.
After playing down the issue of who would be prime minister for most of the campaign, Congress now says there is no other contender in the grand old party. Television exit polls from the first three rounds of voting up to Monday said Congress had made strong gains although it still trailed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition.
“If the Congress gets majority on its own, Sonia Gandhi will be prime minister,” said party spokesman Abhishekh Manu Singhvi.
Two more rounds of voting, including in the giant heartland state and key to power in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, are due next Wednesday and May 10.
A combination of opinion and exit polls, which have a varied track record, shows the BJP and its allies could fall short of the 273 seats needed to rule the 545-member lower house, boosting Congress hopes of a fight back. If there is a hung Parliament, small parties such as Samajwadi Party could play a crucial role in shaping the next government.
Among the names doing the rounds for the top job are Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
In an interview with the Statesman newspaper, Sonia said she is not religious but that Catholic values shape her decisions.
“I’m not religious. My family never was,” the Statesman quoted Sonia, 57, as saying. “My father never went to church; my mother did, but not every week. I got sent away to boarding school so I suppose that had its effect, too.”
Asked by the interviewer what principles she draws upon in making moral decisions in family life and politics, she said, “I suppose these Catholic values are at the back of my mind.”
“I feel very strongly about India being a secular state,” she said. “By secular state I mean one that will encompass all religions. The present government doesn’t stand for that. It is important that Congress is in power.”
