Rahul Gandhi expected to be named as Congress party's PM candidate

Rahul Gandhi is expected to be named Friday as the ruling Congress party's prime ministerial candidate for India's upcoming general elections slated for May this year, according to a minister Thursday. "Whether he (Rahul) accepts or not, he is our prime ministerial candidate. He will certainly accept (the responsibility), this is my opinion. Wait till tomorrow. No, no differences (among senior leaders), we all are very happy," Indian Road Transport Minister Oscar Fernandes said in the national capital. The minister's remarks came a day ahead of a crucial meeting of the Congress party, where Gandhi is expected to be formally anointed the prime ministerial candidate for the polls. Rahul Gandhi, 43, is the son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family that have dominated India 's post-independence history. He is a vice-president of Congress and was in charge of the party's campaign in state elections in 2013, in which it fared disastrously. There has been a growing clamor in the ranks and file of the Congress that its vice president and son of party chief be made the contender for the top post ahead of the elections, given that its government is entangled in a series of corruption scandals and slammed for failing to tackle inflation.