Congress considering Manmohan rally in Gujarat - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Will Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cross swords with Narendra Modi in the saffron stronghold of Gujarat?

There is a likelihood of Singh visiting Modi's fief to address an election rally. Congress poll managers are mulling four states for Singh to campaign in to make him visible in the election field.

The PM has addressed only three elections meetings till now while 230 Lok Sabha seats would have gone to polls by Thursday, a token presence for the man who has been the face of the decade-long UPA regime besides also having become an issue in the current poll campaign.

There is an expectation that Singh should step up participation in electioneering, even clarify on the book by his former media advisor that has landed Congress in a soup.

Sanjaya Baru's memoirs depicted Singh as lacking authority and following the diktat of Sonia Gandhi in decision-making, a refrain picked up by BJP to slam him as the "weakest PM" the country has seen till now.

If the campaign plan is okayed, Singh's presence in Gujarat would be significant in view of the fact that BJP challenger Narendra Modi has been attacking him for years and has intensified the barrage in the election field in the last few days.

Singh had landed the first blow on Modi in January, saying the Gujarat leader as PM "would be a disaster for India". However, the elections have unfolded differently with Modi emerging a frontrunner of sorts in popularity while Congress is languishing in the search for numbers.

It would be interesting to see what Singh says in Gujarat should he agree to address an election campaign in the state.

According to sources, there is a proposal for Singh to address rallies in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab.

While Punjab is an obvious choice for being his home state and Maharashtra is ruled by Congress, the other turfs do pose a challenge.

Gujarat is a BJP den and Modi has taken special pleasure is slamming Singh for lacking authority as PM. Also, Congress is a bit player in Tamil Nadu this election after its failure to find a partner among the Dravidian outfits while it is also on the wrong side of the Tamil nationalist sentiment after the Centre's decision to abstain from voting on the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution seeking an international investigation into the war crimes against Tamils in Sri Lanka.