Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday backed Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the joint Opposition alliance in the 2019 LokSabha (LS) elections.

Reiterating his earlier stand, Amarinder said that Rahul was fully competent to lead the country and will surely prove to be a successful Prime Minister (PM). He said  the Congress should explore all alliance possibilities for next year’s Parliamentary elections and Rahul should lead the joint front of the Opposition parties to boot the divisive BharatiyaJanata Party-led NDA out of power.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) session in New Delhi, CM said alliances for the LS polls would be worked out by the party at the national level, with the state units following suit.

“The alignments will have to happen at the national level. Whatever they decide will apply to the states,” he said, adding that “the alliances will be dependent on the Central leadership, and wherever it takes us, we will go.”

Asked if this meant he was open to an alliance with the AamAadmi Party (AAP), which the Congress had routed in Punjab, Amarinder told reporters to refrain from trying to put words in his mouth.

The CM said he supported former finance minister P Chidambaram, who told the CWC that the Congress would have to enter broad-based alliances to win the 2019 elections.

“I endorse what Chidambaram has said…I think he said a very good thing – that we should bring as many people in the Opposition together as possible,” he added.

All the like-minded parties who wanted to restore India’s glorious secular and harmonious character should get together in their collective interest, and more importantly in the interest of the country, said Amarinder.

To a question on the people’s mood in Punjab ahead of the LS polls, the CM said it was entirely in favour of the Congress. Pointing out that the Congress had won Gurdaspur and Shahkot with record margins in recent months, he expressed the confidence that the party would win hands down in the parliamentary elections next year.

“I have promised them (the high command) Punjab, and will give it to them,” he said, adding that he had also told them that “if you want to use us elsewhere too, we are there.” Replying to another question, he said the ShiromaniAkali Dal (SAD) was their main opponent in the state.