Monday, February 21 2005 19:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children had decided before the Lok Sabha elections last year that Manmohan Singh would be nominated for the post of Prime Minister if the party came back to power.

US magazine 'Newsweek' quoted an unnamed close adviser of Gandhi as saying that she and her two politically savvy children Rahul and Priyanka decided before the polls that she would nominate Singh for the premiership instead of her taking the mantle.

"He had what she lacked: technical skill, administrative experience and a lifetime record of service and patriotism that was unquestionable across India's broad political spectrum," the magazine says in an article in its forthcoming issue.