New Delhi, May 19: Raghav Tankha is not amused. Over the past few days, he had not got to see much of grandpa at all. All day he had stayed glued to the telly, tracking grandpa dashing from one meeting to another and wondering what Sonia Gandhi would be up to next.

By this morning, however, the 14-year-old knew life wouldn’t be the same for him ever again. His grandfather Manmohan Singh was set to take over as the Prime Minister of India, which meant he would not have the time to give his grandchildren as much attention as they were used to.

“Ninety-nine per cent he will be the Prime Minister,” Raghav today told three of his friends who, along with him, were watching awe-struck at the dozen or so television crew parked outside their Safdarjung bungalow since early morning. “But he doesn’t want it.”

Raghav said Singh had told his family members a few days ago that he wasn’t interested in being Prime Minister. Asked at the height of the dynasty drama if he liked the way things were going — Sonia had by then hinted she would propose his name — Singh had said: “No.”

Excited though Raghav is at the thought of having a Prime Minister for a grandfather, he is very clear in his mind what he wants Singh to be. “I would like him to be the finance minister… that is his area of specialisation, not the Prime Minister,” he said.

The boy is, however, also aware that the stepped-up security for his grandfather would rob him of his freedom, too. Already, he had been told not to venture out of the house on his own. There were dozens of security personnel at the gates and they had warned that movement of the new Prime Minister’s family would be curtailed soon.

A securityman at the gates of Singh’s house said he and his team were lucky the Prime Minister-designate did not have much of a following among party workers. Else, “we would have had to handle hundreds of people”, he said, pointing to the dozen or so people loitering in the area in the afternoon.

The scenario, however, changed by late evening. Once Singh received his appointment letter from the President after he staked claim to form the government, hundreds of Congress supporters danced and distributed sweets outside his residence. Several bouquets from well wishers were also carried into his house.

Earlier, after he drove back from the CPP meeting, Singh made a brief appearance at the gate of his house to wave to the cheering crowds chanting “Manmohan Singh zindabad” and “Jo bole so nihal, sat sri Akal”.

A three-layered security ring has been thrown around Singh’s residence. Special Protection Group commandos have taken up position at the centre of the ring; CRPF and Delhi police personnel as well as those from the Rapid Action Force are already stationed around the house.