Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi has refused to become India’s next prime minister, it was reported on Tuesday.
She has apparently told senior Congress Party leaders that she does not want to head the new government, television network NDTV reported.
Gandhi met President APJ Abdul Kalam on Tuesday morning to discuss formation of a government of the United Progressive Alliance — the Congress Party and its allies.
A similar rumour made the rounds on Monday, but Congress leaders and the party’s allies persuaded her to accept the prime minister’s post.
The new candidate from the Congress would be announced later on Tuesday evening, reports said.
Two front-runners for the post are Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee, both of whom have held the post of finance minister in the past.
The Guardian newspaper reported that Hindu nationalists on Monday threatened to launch a nationwide agitation against Gandhi’s ”foreign origins” and promised to boycott the new prime minister’s swearing-in ceremony.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was defeated in general elections, said it wanted to ”give vent to the sense of outrage felt by millions of patriotic Indians” and would not be attending the inauguration.
The BJP’s statement came as Kalam invited Gandhi and her coalition partners to form the next government.
Hindu party to boycott Gandhi ceremony