Instead, he said he was “obsessed with Uttar Pradesh [state]”, where he has been campaigning relentlessly for the forthcoming assembly polls.
Mr Gandhi said he was committed to transforming the state, which is one of India’s most backward.
Many see the fourth-generation scion of the famous Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as the PM-in-waiting.
On Sunday his sister Priyanka Gandhi, another star Congress party campaigner in Uttar Pradesh, told reporters that Rahul Gandhi was not focused on becoming PM.
He was working to “bring in positive change in the state and not for his reputation”, she said.
Mr Gandhi told a press conference in Varanasi on Monday: “All the political leaders in India, all the top ones, have an obsession with prime ministership. This is not Rahul Gandhi’s obsession. I have another obsession.
“I want to correct the way we have been working in this state. I believe it is a monumental crime not to hear the voice of the people.
“I don’t have any major strengths. All I have is that some people in this country believe in me. Even if 1% of the people in Uttar Pradesh believe in us, that will be good for me,” he said.
Mr Gandhi is an MP from Uttar Pradesh and although he is not contesting the assembly elections, which begin on Wednesday, he has been campaigning extensively in the politically crucial state, which sends the most members to parliament.