Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday made an attempt to clear his stand on his name being propped up as the probable prime ministerial candidate. He told his partymen, "The prime minister's post is not my priority. I believe in long-term politics."

"I look for 2019 or later,” said the Congress party vice-president. There has been much speculation both within his party and outside over whether Gandhi will be named as the Congress's nominee for the prime ministership ahead of the 2014 elections.

Gandhi, who has in the past told Congress leaders to refrain from Rahul-for-PM chanting, said that his focus is to strengthen his party. He, however, did not comment on who would be the PM if Congress returned to power.  

In January, he was formally anointed vice-president of Congress, though for years, he has been treated as the second most influential member of the party; the first being his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who is the Congress president.

The opposition party, the BJP, has so far not confirmed if it will announce Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. Modi's popularity within his party was much on display the past weekend at a conclave of senior BJP leaders and thousands of workers, who shouted slogans in his support. In a one-hour speech, Modi tore into the Gandhis, accusing the Congress of sacrificing the country's interests for the Gandhi family.