Rediff Ballot: 76 pc pick Modi as next PM, 5 pc for Rahul

Who will be India's next prime minister? The general elections are a year away but the race for 7 Race Course is already hotting up.

The battle for 2014 is going to be an intense one and the stage is being set for a probable face off between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

Can Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be ruled out for the third term? Clearly not! Not ruling in or out, said Dr Singh recently when posed a question recently about the general elections.

The 2014 general election is going be an open contest. Rediff.com drew up a list of probable candidates who could occupy the top post. Over the past seven days, 64,275 readers cast their votes (figures as on 11 am on Monday, April 15) and here's their verdict....

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With 49,073 out of the 64,275 votes going to Modi, he is a clear favourite as a probable prime ministerial candidate. That is a whopping 76 per cent votes.

The Gujarat CM's emergence on national politics seems to be working in his favour.  He has won three state elections in a row, making himself a top contender to be India's prime minister.

The second choice is the Congress party's 'yuvraj'. But how far behind is he lagging?

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With a mere 3,577 votes going for Rahul, the Congress may have more than one reason to worry. If rediff readers are to be believed, the Nehru-Gandhi scion is clearly no match to the fiery Gujarat CM with only five per cent opting for the former.

Modi clearly seems to be on top of the game. May be the Congress should take his vow of paying "back debts to the country" more seriously.

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Dr Singh has kept the third term option open and with 3,041 votes he is just a few hundreds behind Rahul.

From 2G to coal-gate, scams after scams have haunted the United Progressive Alliance II rule and the PM's 'Mr Clean' image has taken a battering.

But can he rise in these muddy times?

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Rahul has said time and again that he is not aiming for the top job. And though there is growing demand that the party pitches him as the PM candidate for the 2014 polls what if does a Sonia and refuses the administrative job.

What are the party's choices then? With Dr Singh integrity being questioned, Finance Minister P Chidambaram may be a fine choice. His stature in the party is growing and he has repeatedly proved his competence.

But the big question remains -- does he have a mass appeal? In the rediff ballot, only 1,955 of the 64,275 voted for the FM that's a mere 3 per cent.

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With Modi's rising popularity he appears to be Bharatiya Janata Party's No 1 choice for the next PM candidate. So is veteran leader L K Advani forgotten?

It has been reported that Advani had been asked to lay low and not express his desire to become the PM, as the party did not want to project 84-year-old against the young Gandhi.

Rediff readers also think that Advani is not ready for the top post. The BJP patriarch as secured 1,504 votes.

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Janata Dal-United's Nitish Kumar is the biggest opponent to Modi being declared as BJP's PM candidate, but at the same time he has ruled himself out of the race.

"I do not nurse such illusions," said the Bihar chief minister on Sunday.

He does not seem to be a popular choice with the public as well. With 1,359 votes he ranks sixth on the list of probable PM candidates.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa too harbours national ambitions.

She asked her party cadres to capture all the 39 constituencies along with the one in Puducherry also which would facilitate her ambition in case in the event of a hung Parliament after elections in 2014, say reports. Her friendship with Modi will provide crucial in helping her gain BJP's support.

Her excellent English will work in her favour.

But what is the public's verdict? She appears seventh on the list of probable PM candidates in the poll with 1312 votes.

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In the BJP, which probably faces the problem of plenty when it comes to the choice of possible PM candidates, Sushma Swaraj is another name that crops up.

Last September, late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had backed her for the post.

Responding to who would be the ideal choice for the PM's job from the BJP, Thackeray said, "At present, there is only one person who is intelligent, brilliant -- Sushma Swaraj."

Further praise the seasoned BJP leader, he added, "I have said this many times...She would be a great choice for PM's post. She is a deserving, intelligent woman. She would deliver a great performance."

But, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha has secured only 1,032 of the total 64,275 votes in the rediff.com ballot.

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Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has expressed his stance for a non-BJP, non-Congress government at the Centre through the formation of a Third Front government.

There is no doubt that Mulayam Singh is eyeing the PM's chair. But the public has little faith in him.

In the poll conducted by rediff.com he secured a mere 477 votes.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too has displayed national ambition.

Her protests against government's economic policies are seen by political analysts as an attempt to make inroads on the national scene. But she remains unpredictable and hence is not a popular PM probable.

In the rediff ballot, she secured a mere 344 votes.

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Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is certainly not out of the race. In fact, she has already identified her party's candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and has sent them to their respective constituencies to start work, reports the Daily Pioneer.

She too has prime ministerial ambitions and though she feels that the anti-incumbency factor will work for her, the public has faith in her.

In fact, Bhenji has secured fewer votes than Mulayam -- 324.

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The Nationalist Congress Party has recently hinted as its chief and Union agriculture minister as a PM candidate.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries Praful Patel in a TV interview in March said if there is a situation where there is a consensus on the issue, Sharad Pawar will be certainly ready to become the prime minister.

But rediff readers disagree. With only 240 out of the 64,275, Pawar appears last on the list.

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