chandigarh

Updated: Jul 30, 2019 08:22 IST

Chandigarh Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday backed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the post of party president.

Amarinder said Priyanka would get all-round support if chosen to take over as Congress president. “India is a young nation, and will respond to a young leader,” he told select journalists here, regretting the decision of Rahul Gandhi to step down from the top party post.

The chief minister said Priyanka would be a perfect choice to take over the party reins but it would all depend on the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which alone was authorised to take a decision in the matter. He was asked to comment on Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s statement that Priyanka would be a good choice for being chosen as party chief.

The two-time CM’s statement, which comes at a time when voices within the Congress are growing in favour of Priyanka taking the reins of the party during these difficult times, is also significant because it was under his leadership in the state that the party had stemmed the tide of poll reversals by winning the state polls in Punjab in 2017. Amarinder, it may be recalled, had earlier also pitched for a young leader to take charge of the Congress at this critical juncture.

Responding to another query, Amarinder also said that Priyanka was ideally suited to head the party, which needed a dynamic young leader to rebuild it after the recent Lok Sabha election defeat. “She has the intelligence and instinct to understand and relate to the needs of the nation, and also has the courage to take on any challenge. Given Rahul’s refusal to take back his resignation, she is a good bet to replace him as the new leader,” he said. He also expressed the confidence that she would easily get the support of the party’s rank and file, across regions.