Gehlot visits Shirdi, makes it clear that he will contest election for Congress president’s post

After paying a visit to the Shirdi Saibaba temple in Ahmednagar district, Gehlot attended an event in Sangamner, where he said, “I will take all your blessings and best wishes to Jaipur and then to Delhi. I will always remember that Balasaheb Thorat invited me for my first meeting and from here I started my work

Mumbai: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot who visited popular Saibaba temple in Shirdi on Friday, made it clear that he would be contesting the election for the Congress president’s post. Gehlot, who earlier met former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Kochi, said the latter told him that no one from the Gandhi family would be contesting the elections.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the Sai Baba temple, in Shirdi, Friday. (PTI)

“I met Rahul Gandhi this morning and made a last attempt to convince him as all the state committees have passed resolutions demanding that he take up the post. But he (Rahul) said he has already clarified that no one from the Gandhi family will contest the poll for Congress president,” Gehlot said.

After paying a visit to the Shirdi Saibaba temple in Ahmednagar district, Gehlot attended an event in Sangamner, where he said, “I will take all your blessings and best wishes to Jaipur and then to Delhi. I will always remember that Balasaheb Thorat invited me for my first meeting and from here I started my work.”

Gehlot met with Rahul Gandhi in Kerala, where he also joined his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on Thursday evening. Gehlot is likely to file his nomination on Monday. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has also decided to contest the elections.

Along with many other states, Maharashtra Congress unit on Monday also passed a resolution demanding Rahul Gandhi to take up the Congress chief position.

Gehlot is a three-term chief minister from Rajasthan. In June, he was appointed senior observer of the party for the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections. In his address, he praised Rahul Gandhi for his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. “It is a fantastic initiative. Rahul Gandhi did a great job. People are on the roads in all of Kerala. The same had happened in Tamil Nadu. The scenario is changing,” Gehlot said, adding that love and brotherhood needs to be maintained in the society to develop the country.