Azad’s remarks come two days after Union Minister Rajnath Singh dared the opposition to name its prime ministerial candidate if it was sure of victory in the Lok Sabha polls.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. (File Photo: IANS)
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said that it was not an issue for the party if it does not get the Prime Minister’s post adding that its only aim was to stop the NDA from forming the government.
“We have already made our stand clear. If a consensus is made in the favour of Congress, then the party will take the leadership but our aim has always been that NDA government should not come. We will go with the unanimous decision,” ANI quoted Azad telling reporters in Patna.
“We are not going to make an issue that we (Congress) will not let anyone else become the Prime Minister if it is not offered to us,” he said.
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Azad’s remarks come two days after senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday dared the opposition to name its prime ministerial candidate if it was sure of victory in the Lok Sabha polls, even as he asserted that his party will win more seats than it did in 2014.
With only the last phase of the polls to go for 59 seats, he asked the opposition to not play “hide and seek” with people by not announcing who is its leader. He said voters should not be kept in the dark in a healthy democracy.
Noting that the Congress and other opposition parties have been claiming that they will form the government after the polls, he said, “2014 was about Modi versus Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. In 2019, it is Modi versus who? That is unknown.”
“If they are claiming, they should say who will lead them. People should not be kept in dark in a healthy democracy. The opposition should not play hide and seek,” Singh said.
Singh’s statement marks the BJP’s fresh push to the narrative to woo undecided voters in states like Uttar Pradesh, where it is locked in a keen battle with the SP-BSP alliance, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab among others.
Asked about the likely meeting of opposition leaders, he took a swipe at them, saying they are unable to elect a leader as they know that they will not get a majority.
The seventh and last phase of the general election is due on May 19. The counting of votes will occur on May 23.
(With PTI inputs)
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