Sonia stuns, stops at PMO doorstep

Emotional Congress leaders ask her to reconsider decision; Manmohan frontrunner for PM's Post

Sonia Gandhi today resigned from the leadership of the Congress Parliamentary Party citing her "inner voice" that did not allow her to accept the prime ministership.

A decision on the new prime minister-designate is expected tomorrow with former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh the frontrunner for the job.

The party asked Gandhi to reconsider her decision but she was unlikely to change her mind, sources close to her said.

A section of Congress leaders said Gandhi was expected to call on President APJ Abdul Kalam tomorrow and propose Singh's name as the next prime minister.

Although the Congress Parliamentary Party has authorised Gandhi to take a decision on who the Congress party's prime minister should be, there is a view that another meeting will have to be held to endorse a new leader.

At a three-hour meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, where Gandhi announced she was resigning, the party refused to accept her resignation, instead unanimously amending it to read that she must reconsider her resignation. She pleaded for "trust" from the party.

Gandhi's decision created a crisis in the party office, with workers threatening to immolate themselves and worse if she should "defy" the mandate in this election.

Gandhi had prepared a draft letter of resignation yesterday and this was seen by just three leaders till this afternoon. The draft talked of how "power for itself" had never attracted her, nor "has position been my goal".

The allies were called to discuss the resignation, which was later to have been announced to the Congress Parliamentary Party.

However, news of the resignation leaked out and the allies issued dire threats. Fearing a collapse of the United Progressive Front itself, Gandhi postponed announcing the decision.

This was understood by the allies as well as her party, which had got to know she was having second thoughts, as an attack of nerves. However, Gandhi had not considered changing her mind at any point, sources close to her said.

The Congress allies were confused and puzzled by Gandhi's stand and some of them, including Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ramvilas Paswan, offered to fill the breach if the Congress found it so hard to find an appropriate candidate for prime minister.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury confessed that when he made his efforts last night to persuade Gandhi to be prime minister, he thought he had clinched the issue.

"But it seems personal factors weighed heavy," he said. In a flurry of meetings, VP Singh called on Harkishen Singh Surjeet, several Congress leaders called on leaders of the allies, apparently in an organised work allocation roster to build a case for an alternative Congress candidate for prime minister.

It was important to secure the support of the allies, because party sources confessed they were not at all sure of how the allies would react to a replacement prime minister.

While AB Bardhan (CPI) and Yechury conceded there was some concern about Manmohan Singh's reformist credentials.

However, they said they had no choice; to reject the Congress candidate at this point would mean an open invitation to the BJP to return.

At the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, emotional scenes were evident. Renuka Choudhary broke down and cried as she asked Gandhi not to "orphan" Congress workers.

Several MPs were seen wiping their tears. Leaders like Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and Manishankar Aiyar addressed her as prime minister. There was an outpouring of emotion with Govinda referring to her status as that of "mother" in the party and R Prabhu saying that if anyone became prime minister but her, it would be a victory of the fascists.

Cong sees Rangarajan as FM

If Manmohan Singh becomes India's next Prime Minister, the Congress is certain that a professional will take charge of the finance ministry.

Twelfth Finance Commission Chairman C Rangarajan could be considered for the FM's job, senior Congress leaders indicated. With Singh at the helm, he would prefer an economist for the job.

"Singh shares a good rapport with Rangarajan and had a similar perspective on economic issues," a leader said.

A section of the party in Tamil Nadu said the chances of former finance minister P Chidambaram becoming the FM were poor because "he has returned to the Congress only recently".

Former Reserve Bank of India governor and now Rajya Sabha member Bimal Jalan's prospects may have been brighter had the National Democratic Alliance returned to power.

Rangarajan, also a former Reserve Bank of India governor, is at present busy finalising the Finance Commission report. Prior to his present assignment, he was the governor of Andhra Pradesh. He could not be reached for comments.