Agencies/New Delhi

The Congress yesterday maintained suspense on the possible declaration of party vice president Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate at a crucial meeting tomorrow.

A section in the party says Gandhi should take over as prime minister now and not merely be declared as prime ministerial candidate for this year’s Lok Sabha polls.

“There is a view Gandhi should take over as prime minister now. Decisions by him like extending subsidy on LPG cylinders to 12 or more and cutting down prices of petroleum products will help the party gain ground electorally,” said a party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another party leader said Gandhi was “likely” to be projected as the prime ministerial candidate at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting tomorrow.

Sources said those pushing for declaring Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate feel it would help boost the morale of party workers.

These leaders feel that the Congress should not appear faceless when the Bharatiya Janata Party has Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate and the Aam Aadmi Party could project Arvind Kejriwal as its face for the elections.

The sources said those against the projection of a prime ministerial candidate feel the party was late in making a move and Gandhi would have to do a lot of catching up.

These leaders also say the Congress suffered reverses in the recent assembly polls and the party prospects do not appear bright in the Lok Sabha elections.

On Gandhi’s projection, party spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said at a press conference: “Whether there would be decision or not, it will be known on January 17. It will depend on what is the discussion in the Congress Working Committee and the AICC.”

“... The AICC will meet. It is a large democratic body. Mostly, such opinions lead to decisions which are correct,” he said and added Gandhi was the party’s “principal leader.”

Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy, present at the Congress briefing, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already said Gandhi had all the qualities to be prime ministerial candidate.

There was also speculation in the Congress circles that the party could decide to name Gandhi as chief of its campaign without officially naming him as the prime ministerial candidate.

Asked whether the decision would be announced tomorrow, Information Minister Manish Tewari declined to answer but gave his backing to Gandhi.

“Sentiments (of support for Gandhi) have been expressed and I am sure, as our party president has already indicated, a decision would be taken at the right time,” Tewari said.

Gandhi gave a rare interview this week in which he indicated that he was finally prepared to bow to the wishes of his colleagues.

“I will take up whatever responsibility is given to me by my party in the future and do it diligently to the best of my abilities,” Gandhi told the Hindi-language Dainik Bhaskar newspaper on Tuesday.

Rasheed Kidwai, who has written two books on Congress including a biography of party president Sonia Gandhi, says the party has been “more or less pushed” to make an announcement, given its prospects.

It had initially said it would not reveal its candidate for premier, but then mad a U-turn in the face of gains by the opposition BJP and its leader Modi.

“On January 16 and January 17 there will be a concerted effort (within the party) to have Rahul Gandhi accept his nomination as a PM candidate,” Kidwai said.