Rahul Gandhi being groomed for top post

New Delhi: Congress leaders may have often refrained from calling Rahul Gandhi prime ministerial material, but the fact is the 38-year-old party General- Secretary is being groomed for a "bigger role".

Rahul's role in the Congress mirrors that of his father, the late Rajiv Gandhi, who was first made the Congress general secretary by his mother and late prime minister Indira Gandhi and put in charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

"Whether he is made the prime minister after the coming Lok Sabha elections or not, the fact is that he is being prepared for a bigger role," a senior leader told IANS.

Rahul, in his father's footsteps, was appointed general secretary in September 2007 and began making his presence felt in the party.

While he has launched measures to overhaul the youth and student wings of the party, he has also been inducted into important committees of the Congress.

Party sources say his voice is gaining prominence even in major decisions of the party.

A senior Congress leader said: "It was because of Rahul that the Congress conveyed to National Conference leaders in Jammu and Kashmir that it would join the government there only if the young Omar Abdullah was made the chief minister."

"As a member of the Congress' future challenges committee, set up to brainstorm on how to overhaul the party, his inputs are taken seriously," he said.

Party leader M. Veerappa Moily, who heads the committee, calls Rahul a "star".

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held last Thursday that Rahul was walking in the footsteps of his father.

However, he later clarified to a television channel that it was a general comment he had made.

Earlier, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh made a similar remark, which was retracted after Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is also Rahul's mother, re-affirmed her faith in Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister.

Third pillar

Party general secretary Prithviraj Chavan says Rahul is the "third pole" of the party after his mother and the Prime Minister.

His presence has been felt the most in the youth wing of the party.