'Election is not beauty contest': Jairam Ramesh on how INDIA will choose PM in hours
On a question on the INDIA bloc's PM face, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the election is not a beauty contest.
Choosing the prime minister after they get the mandate on June 4 will be a matter of only a few hours, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday as the marathon election inches towards the finishing line with only two phases left. The Congress leader said that the election is not a beauty contest between people and hence INDIA has no PM face against Narendra Modi.
The statement came a day after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the INDIA bloc would select the prime minister through a consensus at a meeting of all the 26 alliance partners after the results are declared on June 4. It will follow the process that the former UPA adopted in 2004, Kharge said.
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In 2004, Manmohan Singh's name was announced as the prime minister within four days, Jairam Ramesh said adding that this time it would not even take two days. The name will be decided within a few hours.
The formula to be followed is that the candidate of the biggest party will be the prime minister, Jairam Ramesh said to news agency ANI replying to a question on whether Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister's face.
Rahul Gandhi contested from Wayanad and Raebareli in the Lok Sabha election 2024.
The absence of a PM face in INDIA's campaigning drew criticism from the BJP-led NDA as Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the opposition was planning for five prime ministers in five years. Kharge countered the allegation and said in UPA was also an alliance of parties and it completed full terms with one prime minister at the helm.
"In UPA I and UPA II, we were supported by other parties and we completed the full term. For 10 years, there was one prime minister, a person from Punjab Dr Manmohan Singh who governed the country for 10 years," Kharge said.
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