Rahul remains 'reluctant prince'

Lack of Cabinet experience may raise voters' doubts that he is able to run India

Published on Oct 30, 2012

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi waving during an event earlier this month organised by the student wing of the party in Chandigarh. He has chosen to focus on Congress matters such as drawing youngsters to the party, and continually rejected ministerial responsibilities -- .PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Krittivas Mukherjee, India correspondent India correspondent

NEW DELHI - Waiting for Mr Rahul Gandhi to join Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government is like waiting for a boat at the airport.

Ever since he joined politics in 2004, the scion of India's Nehru-Gandhi family has passed up every opportunity to take a government post, leaving the nation to wonder about the administrative skills of a man widely expected to lead his party to the 2014 general election.

Sunday's Cabinet reshuffle was possibly the last chance for him to prove his mettle as a government minister before taking a shot at running the country - a job his father, grandmother and great-grandfather had held as prime ministers of India.

Instead, Mr Gandhi, 42, worked only from behind the scenes, pushing for young blood in government, while his aides insisted that his focus on reviving the fortunes of his Congress party is more crucial than proving any point in a Cabinet post.

Rahul remains 'reluctant prince'

Lack of Cabinet experience may raise voters' doubts that he is able to run India

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