THOUGH RAHUL Gandhi is under apprenticeship for the next prime minister (surely it is Sonia’s dream), his intelligence, leadership -- so far applied, has proved to be nothing but a childish game and cheap popularity technique, staying a few nights in some tribal villages as if he is really one of them. People are now laughing at him. Born with golden spoon, son of a mother who sacrificed prime ministership, a natural tendency to be the next PM may remain in his mind and his mother Sonia. The question is why only Rahul stands as a candidate for PM?

It is a small section of the media, which loves to butter Gandhi family and some loyalists of the family will do propaganda for this type of proposal. Is there no one in the Congress Party to be an intelligent, talented, efficient and a best performer? Who can solve any critical national problems? Whose advice is final and decisive in any grave national situation?

Within India and outside, who is made the busiest person by Sonia. Definitely not Rahul Gandhi. I think Pranab Mukherjee has all along performed very efficiently in any ministry. We should remember that when Dr Manmohan Singh was the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Mukherjee was the Finance Minister and he had chosen Singh to be his successor during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Narshimha Rao.

Why will there be any problem if Mukherjee becomes PM? He is acceptable to all members of the Congress and the allies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and even to the Opposition.

Thus, the questions for Rahul’s candidature as PM should not come up at all.. all parties are communal (1984 Sikh riots by Congress leaders) including, CPM (mass killing and burning of properties at Nandigram, Naanur, Siliguri tea garden, 17 Anandamargis burnt alive to death during Jyoti Basu’s term and many such incidents).

So, performance and national development, security, and other progressive work done should be the factor in electing the next government at the Centre. At least, during the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) government nobody bore the brunt of inflation, which, at present, is troubling every section of the Indian society.

At present, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies are ruling in 12 states. They should perform better in their respective states if they want to be elected in the next election. LK Advani is no more a symbol of hardline Hindutva. He and his associates understood that this line will not fetch any further wins for them. As a national leader, he is acceptable to most. He is clean, a better and farsighted decision maker, highly experienced and politically very mature. He may be a better PM if not Mukherjee fails to make the cut.