The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Monday authorised party president Sonia Gandhi to select nominees for President and Vice-President.
Interestingly, the resolution was moved by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, whose name has been doing the rounds for President.
Asked whether he was the candidate, Mr. Mukherjee smiled and said: “It is for the Congress president to select [the candidate for] the next President, not for me or Janardan [Dwivedi].”
Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Dwivedi, who is the party's media chairperson, jointly addressed the press after the deliberations.
On a lighter note, Mr. Mukherjee mentioned the fact that since 1974, he had been “a minor player” in the selection of Presidents, barring the six years when the National Democratic Alliance was in power.
Now, Ms. Gandhi will have another round of discussions with parties of the ruling United Progressive Alliance before taking the matter to the Congress Core Group. Thereafter, party sources say, she will decide on the two names.
