(Image source from: Is Nandan Nilekani Congress' PM candidate?})

The recent electoral debacle has compelled Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her party members to rush back to the drawing board and lay new plans. Following this, the capital corridors are buzzing with speculation as to who might be Congress' Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha polls - if a name must be suggested before the elections, and if Rahul Gandhi bows out of the top job.

Post Sonia Gandhi's statement on Sunday that PM candidate would be nominated at an "opportune time", rumor mills are abuzz with talks on who could be the possible choice, if not Rahul Gandhi.

The top speculated names are those of finance minister P Chidambaram, defence minister A K Antony, and home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Then, there is a wildcard entry - UDAI chairman and the man behind Aadhaar: Nandan Nilekani, the dark horse in the game.

Besides being a technocrat with a clean image and known to the business, Mr. Nilekani, though 58 years of age, has our-and-a-half years experience in government and is the main mastermind behind Unique Identification project,one of the world's most ambitious and politically difficult public projects. One of the founding members of Infosys, Mr. Nilekani would also be a good face to project globally, and being an alumnus of IIT, represents modern-day meritocracy and may appeal to the young brigade.

Obviously, the opposition from within Congress will be intense with leaders with many, many more years of experience in politics and government, and very strong credentials in running ministries like P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Sushil K Shinde putting their foot down, if novice Nilekani's name is proposed.

When contacted, Mr. Nilekani has rubbished the news as baseless rumors.

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury