The Congress on Sunday appeared to suggest that Manmohan Singh will in all probability be the prime ministerial candidate of the party in the next elections, especially after successfully staking his government over the nuclear deal.
"There is no vacancy for the post of the prime minister. No applications are being invited or are necessary or are being entertained," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.
His response came when asked by PTI as to who is the prime ministerial candidate of the ruling party at a time when elections are not far away and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has already named L K Advani as their man for the top job while some parties are projecting Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati as the right choice.
Another senior Congress leader and Union minister, who declined to be named, said after successfully clinching the nuclear deal, Manmohan Singh has emerged as 'the man of the moment'.
"Just like a chief minister who leads the party successfully in the elections becomes the future chief minister, ditto is the case with the prime minister," the leader said.
These statements are significant in view of the fact that the party some months back had formally snubbed senior leaders like Arjun Singh and others who had sought to project Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate in the next elections.
This was despite the fact that the All India Congress Committee has been projecting the young Gandhi as a future leader and potential prime minister.