NEW DELHI: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh dubbed the experiment of “two power centres” in UPA as a failure and said Rahul Gandhi should not repeat Sonia Gandhi ’s decision to nominate a leader as prime minister.

“Personally, I feel this model hasn't worked very well. Because, I personally feel there should not be two power centres and I think whoever is the PM must have the authority to function,” the Congress general secretary said in a TV interview.

While Singh clarified that Sonia had never interfered in government functioning during the two UPA stints, his comment marked the first frank assessment of the split leadership of government and party post-2004.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has often been a critic of the government’s policies and his remarks can be seen as a less than flattering assessment of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ’s stewardship.

The stinging analysis of the UPA experiment came in the context of Singh strongly rebuffing suggestions that Rahul was reluctant to take up the top job and a reiteration of the belief that the Congress president should also be the PM when the party is in power.

Media reports earlier this month quoted Rahul as telling party MPs that he did not want to become the PM and was instead keen on focusing on organizational revival.

While reinforcing apprehensions in some party quarters that he continued to be a reluctant leader despite his elevation at Jaipur, the statement was read by some to mean that he could repeat the experiment put in place by mother and Congress chief Sonia.

Singh denied the “I-will-not-be-PM” remark attributed to Rahul Gandhi. “Rahul said his priority was welfare of the people. Media assumed that he was saying becoming PM was not his priority,” the AICC leader explained.

According to Singh, Rahul told him that his statement had been misrepresented.

The denial of the “not-be-PM” statement, read alongside the failure of “dual power centre”, coming from the senior leader seen to be close to Rahul, indicates the heir-imminent would be willing to take up the top job if Congress leads a coalition to majority in 2014.

The statement apparently rebuffing the PM’s post kicked off murmurs about the “next Manmohan Singh” in Congress, a reference to the leader who could be put in the hot chair if the Gandhi family did not claim it.

Congress insiders said the picture of a reluctant prince was not good for the party’s health ahead of elections as it carried the risk of demotivating cadres and confusing voters. The Gandhi family is seen as the glue holding together diverse factions and ideological camps that crowd the organization from top to bottom.

Singh praised the leadership of 10, Janpath, to advocate that Rahul should step up to the plate when the time comes. "I think... I strongly feel that... when time comes and if the Congress gets majority or it is in a position to form the government, I think Rahul Gandhi should take the call," he said.

He said even in an unwieldy coalition, Rahul would be able to manage the intricacies of the coalition politics since he is “mature enough” and would have the assistance of senior party leaders.