A day after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hailed Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi as the “new leader”, the Congress on Wednesday indicated that the party would project him as the prime ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha polls. “Rahul Gandhi is the future of the Congress party and future of the country,” party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said when asked whether Pranab’s statement could be interpreted as Rahul going to be the next Prime Minister.