Jaipur : The stage is all set for Rahul Gandhi to take a “bigger role” in the Congress as well as government with the party’s all-powerful Congress Working Committee (CWC) likely to discuss the issue on the final day of the Congress’ Chintan Shivir in Jaipur today, sources have said.

“The CWC is likely to take a call on the issue,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said today. “But it is for him (Rahul) to take the final decision,” he added.

The CWC will meet at 6.30 pm.

Voices pitching for Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2014 could be heard loud and clear at the Chintan Shivir today.

“He (Rahul) represents the demographic dividend. We want him to lead in 2014 but he has to take the final call,” Minister of State (independent charge) for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia said.

Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Sanjay Nirupam unequivocally said that Rahul was the party’s best bet as candidate for PM and there was no hesitation within the Congress in projecting him as one.

“It has almost been announced that the Congress is going to fight the 2014 elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. He is our candidate for the post of prime minister after the 2014 elections,” Mr Nirupam said.

Rahul is a general secretary in the Congress and in-charge of the party’s campaign committee for the 2014 elections. He neither leads the Congress – mother Sonia Gandhi does – nor is a part of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, but has a big say in the party as well as the government.

Other Congress veterans at the Chintan Shivir too have rooted for Rahul. While Veerappa Moily said Rahul is “our leader in the present and for the future”, Mani Shankar Aiyar said the entire party would back the Gandhi scion should he decide to accept a bigger role.

Yesterday, MPs Raj Babbar, Avtar Singh Badana and others had made the demand for projecting Rahul as the prime ministerial candidate.

While Rahul has been named the chief strategist for the 2014 polls, his much anticipated larger role in the Congress and the government is yet to be spelt out.

As was evident in Sonia Gandhi’s speech yesterday, the Congress is feeling the poll pinch from alienating middle class and urban voters, who are angry about rising prices, insufferable corruption and lack of security for women.

As the Congress works on its gameplan to win back its vote base, many leaders feel that the Chintan Shivir is the right platform to give Rahul a leg-up ahead of the 2014 elections.

There has also been much talk of the 2014 elections being a straight contest between Rahul and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who, it is learnt, is set to be declared the BJP’s face for the general elections.

But Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh feels the 2014 polls, far from being a Rahul-Modi contest, will be party vs party.

NDTV