Amidst the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday. After meeting the Congress President, CM Gehlot spoke to reporters and said that he will not contest for the post of President.
Ashok Gehlot said, “I spoke to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. Whatever happened two days ago shook us. It gave the message that all this happened because I wanted to be the CM. I apologized to Sonia Gandhi”. After the refusal of Ashok Gehlot to contest the election, now the contest for the post of president can be between party veterans Digvijay Singh and Shashi Tharoor.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh arrived at the party headquarters in New Delhi from Kerala on Thursday, where he was participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra along with Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders. With this new twist in the race for Congress President, he made it clear that he wanted to be a competitor. Digvijay Singh also took the nomination papers today.
Central Election Authority Chairman Madhusudan Mistry will file his nomination papers on Friday as he is not present in Delhi. Talking to the media after taking the nomination form, he said, “I will fill the nomination form on Friday and I am doing this on my personal decision, there has been no indication from the high command to do so”. Digvijay Singh has taken ten copies of the nomination papers.
He has also received support from the Congress unit of Madhya Pradesh and a delegation of party MLAs will reach Delhi to extend their support to Singh. There are three reasons why Digvijay Singh would be the best candidate for AICC chief, a Congress leader told news agency IANS on condition of anonymity. First, he has a lot of experience as a spokesperson. He has been associated with administration and organization for many years. Second, he belongs to the Hindi-speaking belt, where the party’s condition has completely deteriorated. The third reason is that the Congress chief has the stamina to take on PM Modi and hence Digvijay Singh would be the best candidate for the party’s post.
Shashi Tharoor is also in the race for the post of Congress President. He has taken the nomination papers. Shashi Tharoor will file nomination papers on September 30. After many years in the election for the post of Congress President, it is happening that the Gandhi family is not standing in this election. In fact, the notification for the election of the President has been issued on 22nd September. The process of filing the form will continue till September 30. That is, whoever wants to contest the election for the post of president can file a form. The Central Election Authority, headed by senior party leader Madhusudan Mistry, will oversee the voting.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations has been kept as October 8. Voting will take place on October 17, while the election results will be declared on October 19, voting will take place only when two candidates are in the fray. If one candidate stands, he/she will be elected unopposed.