Clamour Grows for Larger Role in Congress for Rahul

New Delhi: Voices are rising within the Congress for a larger role to Rahul Gandhi with senior leader Digvijay Singh Monday urging him to move to the party's mainstream and another senior functionary indicating that Gandhi could be projected as the prime minister in the next Lok Sabha polls.

Digvijay Singh said time has come for Rahul Gandhi, his fellow general secretary, to go beyond his present engagements in the party's frontal organisations for youth and students and move to the mainstream.

Digvijay Singh, who has worked closely with him in Uttar Pradesh, said that the party was hoping for a greater role for Rahul Gandhi beyond his present assignments as Youth Congress and National Students Union of India in-charge.

His remarks assume significance as they came on a day he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Party leaders Janardan Dwivedi and Ahmed Patel also met her.

"Yes, (that is) what are we hoping for. Time has come for a larger role... He has been confining himself to student wing and Youth Congress. (He should) come to the mainstream now," Digvijay Singh told reporters here.

Asked about his recent remarks that the new role for Rahul Gandhi could come by September, he said that presidential and vice presidential elections would be over by then.

He, however, added that the decision about contours of the larger role would be taken by Rahul Gandhi himself and Sonia Gandhi.

Digvijay Singh asserted that Sonia Gandhi will lead the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Party sources said that Rahul Gandhi was unlikely to be made working president as Sonia Gandhi was functioning as a full-time president.