'Why should he say no': NCP on Rahul's willingness to become PM

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Majeed Memon on Tuesday said that the Congress has bright prospects of having highest number of the Lok Sabha MPs in 2019 elections as they are the single largest political party among the non-Bharatiya Janata Party group but there is no such pre condition that all other political parties must accept Rahul Gandhi as the face for Prime Minister.

"The situation is that Congress is certainly the single largest political party among the non-BJP group and therefore Congress has bright prospects of having highest number of the Lok Sabha MPs in 2019 elections but still that is not the pre condition," he said.

"While coming together to fight for removal of Bharatiya Janata Party, there is no such pre condition that all other political parties must accept Rahul Gandhi as the face for PM. We have absolutely no pre conditions, he added.

Reacting on Congress President Rahul Gandhi's statement expressing willingness to become Prime Minister in 2019, Memon said 'why should he say no'.

"If a question is asked to Rahul Gandhi would you like to become the Prime Minister, why should he say no. If you ask me if I would like to become the PM probably I would also say yes, I also have a dream to become the PM," he said.

"It does not have any political conclusions to be drawn or to be read between the lines", he added.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi on being asked if he will become the Prime Minister in 2019 if the Congress emerges as the single largest party after the 2019 general elections, he said, "Yes, why not".

The NCP leader said that Congress has also agreed to come on board without any pre conditions of projecting Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate.

He said, "As a matter of fact leaders like Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu and others were thinking of floating a group of political parties which are non BJP, non Congress. But it is Sharad Pawar's endeavour that he said that no we cannot exclude Congress, let us take Congress also on board and Congress has agreed to come on board without any pre conditions of projecting Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate."

He also said, "We have no candidate to be projected before election that he would be PM. We will see the mandate of the people and then decide the candidate."

On a related note, the general elections are due to be held in April or May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.