Kolkata: Congress today (March 1, 2004) hinted that Sonia Gandhi would be the Prime Minister if the party received majority on its own in the Lok Sabha election, but the option of who would be the leader of a Congress-led coalition would remain open if the party fell far short of majority.

"Sonia Gandhi is leader of the Congress. If we win a majority, you know who will be the Prime Minister," Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal told a press conference when asked if Sonia would be the Prime Minister if the party won the polls.

Sibal countered by asking if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a lesser number of seats, who would decide who will be Prime Minister in that coalition?

Similarly, "in our case, our coalition partners will decide who will be the Prime Minister if we fall far short of majority".

Expressing confidence that Congress would emerge victorious in the forthcoming polls, Sibal said, "If we fall short of the 272 mark, we will accept the support of any party, which is not saffronised."