Rahul should be PM candidate in 2019: Captain

CHANDIGARH:CHIEF minister Capt Amarinder Singh congratulated Rahul Gandhi on becoming the Congress president-elect, saying his elevation would help the party re-emerge as the country’s leading political party, on Monday.

The party would gain immensely by projecting Rahul as the prime ministerial candidate in the next parliamentary polls, Amarinder said in a statement here. “Congratulations @Officeofrg for being elected unopposed as @Incindia president. I am sure the party will see not just revival but massive growth under your able and dynamic leadership,” he added on Twitter. “The infusion of young blood will lead to the re-emergence of the Congress as country’s leading political party, and the only one which could help protect its secular and democratic fabric.”

Amarinder said the “massive” response Rahul has been getting in Gujarat, where he has campaigned aggressively, “endorses the fact that he is the best choice” to lead the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, state Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said the youth sees Rahul Gandhi as a “rising sun”.

Sidhu told ANI, “This is very fortunate for our nation. Majority in our country is youth and they need an inspiration.” Hailing the Gandhi family, he said, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gave country freedom. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the country. Sonia Gandhi stayed in the back and made a Sikh, Manmohan Singh, country’s prime minister. Now, Rahul Gandhi will give credibility, character and faith to the country.”

Earlier in the week too, Sidhu came out in support of Rahul days after a leader questioned the election process.