The Congress became conscious not to further use any official machinery or function for promoting Rahul. The slated All The Rahul show at the gala conference of Overseas Indians was finally dropped and a new modified programme had to be printed. Excuses are being given that 'Rahul Gandhi will not be available as he has some other engagements on the same day.' Others say 'it was due to security problems.' However, the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi sought to clear air in a press conference on Monday. He said 'however, Rahul Gandhi may come in one of the three days of the event to meet some foreign delegates.'

Congress intends to move cautiously on the issue. Rahul's proposed anointment as the prime ministerial candidate on January 17 may not take place as expected. When asked at a recent discussion in a TV channel a senior party leader, Mani Shankar Aiyer said he is not aware of it.

However, the Prime Minister declared from an official podium on Friday he would not be 'a candidate for Prime Ministership if the UPA were to come back to power' and would handover the baton to the new incumbent. He missed no words in mentioning the new incumbent and said 'Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials to be nominated as the (Prime Ministerial) candidate. I hope our party will take that decision at the appropriate time.'

Further seeking to clear the way for Rahul from his archrival, the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he said, 'I have full confidence that the next Prime Minister will be from the UPA coalition, and without discussing the merits of Mr Narendra Modi, it will be disastrous for the country to have Shri Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister.'

Prime Minister's indications were clear and his government was following the sacred guidelines. The 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Delhi was slated to have a special session on 'Aspirations of Youth Diaspora' where Rahul Gandhi was to deliver his inaugural and keynote address on 7 January. Attempts were being made to rope in youth celebrities from the country as audiences. But the organisers were unfortunate as number of regrets began pouring in from celebrities like the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Indian shooter Gagan Narang, Olympics Gold Medalist, Abhinav Bindra, Indian boxer Mary Kom, athlete Milkha Singh. According to the old programme schedule confirmations for participation were awaited from Indian Chess Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, wrestler Sushil Kumar, professional golf player Jyoti Randhawa and cricketers Rahul Dravid and Kapil Dev.

Despite the bests efforts put by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on a war footing to persuade as many celebrity sportspersons and athletes as possible to participate and prevent it from becoming a flop show of Rahul Gandhi, the results did not turn out well

However, some young political leaders gave their consent to participate in the Rahul show, among whom were the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari, Minister of State for Human Resources Development Jitendra Prasada, Agatha K Sangma, Rajeev Satav MLA, Naveen Jindal MP, Ashok Tanwar MP, Supriya Sule MP, Minister of Corporate Affairs Sachin Pilot. But incidentally, a youth leader from the Congress party, Sandeep Dikshit sent his regrets.

To make up the deficiency, the organisers had made efforts to register the presence of some notable youth diaspora from abroad like the youth ambassador from Netherlands, Ms Kirty Mata Badal, Chancellor and President of University of Houston Systems, Dr Renu Khator, Chairman of GOPIO Australia Business Council, Dr Jagvinder Singh Virk, Dr Mamta Singhvi from American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), Canadian politician Dr Ruby Dhalla and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi of New Zealand's National Party.

President of Whistling Woods International and Ms Meghna Ghai Puri, Chairman of Gandhi Foundation of USA, Subhas Razdan had however given their consent to participate.

According to the previous schedule, the Day One of the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 7 was entirely dedicated to the Rahul Show. The Day Two was slated for inauguration by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh where the Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment G Palanivel will be the Chief Guest. The Day Three of the event will close with the valedictory address by the President Pranab Mukherjee and presentation of Pravasi Bharatiya Sanman Award to the Malaysian Tamil Minister Palanivel.

It is aptly clear that the Congress party is paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to become its prime ministerial candidate for the forthcoming 2014 polls. The party is attempting to clear all possible hurdles on his path. The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has sought to nullify the tag of 'Shahzada' hurled upon him by his arch rival Narendra Modi by saying it it would be 'disastrous' if the latter becomes the prime minister and blamed the Gujarat Chief Minister of presiding 'over a mass massacre of innocent citizens on the streets of Ahmedabad.'

The rival political party, BJP, has been critical of any Italian connection coming up for any wrong reasons with the Gandhi family. The Government has become conscious and has finally cancelled the controversial Rs 3,546 crore deal for 12 VVIP helicopters inked with the Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland in February 2010, even as the investigations are in progress in Italy and by CBI in India. But another such irritant awaits to be resolved – the killing of Indian fishermen by Italian marines.

Rahul has not been successful in attracting crowd in his rallies, while his arch rival Narendra Modi has proved it. Modi has been a successful campaigner in the recent polls. The BJP bounced back to power in three states and emerged as the single largest party in Delhi. Rise in prices of essential commodities and unemployment have been the reasons for Congress party's casualty. This has been admitted by the Prime Minister. Corruption is another issue which Rahul has to explain.

The Congress President Sonia Gandhi is cautious. She said that the party will name its prime ministerial candidate at the right time. She has also indicated it would be him. (IPA Service)