New Delhi: The Congress party is gearing up for the Presidential Election scheduled to be held on October 17, 2022 and it the party sources are to be believed the fight could be Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.
Ashok Gehlot is seen as a Gandhi family man. However, party sources said that interim Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi has hinted that she does not have any reservations against senior party leader Shashi Tharoor running for Congress President's post.
Sonia Gandhi gave her nod on Monday shortly after meeting Tharoor and a few other Congress leaders on her return following a medical check-up abroad.
Tharoor, who was one of the G-23 members of the party who had demanded sweeping reforms in the Congress, is now likely to throw his hat into the ring for the race to the top party post, voting for which will be held on October 17.
Senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said:
"Anybody who wants to contest is free and welcome to do so. This has been the consistent position of Congress President and Rahul Gandhi. This is an open, democratic and transparent process. Nobody needs anybody's nod to contest.”
Meanwhile, Congress' state units have been passing resolutions to make Rahul Gandhi the next party President, including in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, among others. However, Congress' Central Election Authority (CEA) has said that such resolutions will not have any bearing on the election process.
Madhusudan Mistry, Chairman of CEA, said:
"These resolutions have no bearing on the election process."
The resolutions passed by the Congress' state units notwithstanding, Rahul Gandhi, at least for now, ruled out any interest in the top party post.
Rahul Gandhi resigned as Party Chief after the party's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Currently, he is leading a 3,500 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra, and reporters on many occasion during this yatra asked if he has any plan to contest the Congress Party President elections. Gandhi however did not respond to the media queries.
While the notification for the Presidential election will be issued on September 22, there is still suspense over the candidates who will contest for the top party post.
While the G-23 group is gearing up to field a candidate and Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor is its top choice, for party loyalists, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is the preferred choice, sources said.
However, Gehlot is reportedly reluctant to leave chief ministership and move to Delhi. In that scenario, former Union minister Mukul Wasnik or leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, could emerge as the front-runners, as both belong to the Scheduled Caste community.
The nominations are to be filed between September 24 and September 30.
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