Congress should name Prime Ministerial candidate: Chidambaram

New Delhi, Dec 30:

should project its

for the forthcoming general elections next year, Finance Minister

on Monday said. "...in my view, the party (Congress) should project a person as the leader of the party who will become prime minister if the party forms the government.

That is my view, but it is for the party to decide," he said in an interview to a television channel. He said that in today's parliamentary as well as state elections, voters tend to ask who is the leader.

"That is something that I have observed over the last 15-20 years," the Minister said, adding that in many state elections, there had been direct contest between chief minister candidates of party A or party B.

"We have seen this for nearly 30 years or more in Tamil Nadu," he added. While BJP had named Narendra Modi as PM candidate in September, there has been criticism that Congress has been reticent about naming its nominee.

On the day the Assembly poll results came, party chief Sonia Gandhi said that the party would announce its Prime Ministerial candidate at an opportune time.

There are speculations that Congress in its AICC meeting on January 17 will declare its Vice-President Rahul Gandhi the party's Prime Ministerial candidate.

PTI