Congress poll: Gehlot likely to file nomination after leadership crisis is over

Lawmakers loyal to Gehlot have threatened to bring the government down unless they get to pick his successor

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is unlikely to file his nomination for Congress’s top post until the crisis over the nomination of his successor is resolved, people aware of the matter said on Monday. Lawmakers loyal to Gehlot, who was due to file the nomination on Monday, have threatened to bring the government down unless they get to pick his successor

Ashok Gehlot was expected to file his nomination for the Congress president’s election on Monday. (PTI)

The Congress presidential poll nomination process has separately been halted for a day as Madhusudan Mistry, who heads the party’s Central Election Authority, was due to go for a routine health check-up.

A Congress spokesperson told HT the process has been just stopped for Monday and Mistry will be back at the Congress headquarters on Tuesday after the check-up and resume the process.

Gehlot’s supporters have sought postponement of the announcement of his successor until October 19, Congress’s central observers Ajay Maken said on Monday and added there seems to be a conflict of interest as a resolution authorises the party president to take the final decision on the matter. Maken pointed out that by October 19, Gehlot could be the Congress chief.

The Gehlot camp legislators on Sunday indicated that the candidature of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who revolved against Gehlot in 2020, would be unacceptable, plunging the Congress into disarray in Rajasthan, one of the only two states the party is in power on its own.

Contenders for the Congress’s top post such as Shashi Tharoor will separately file their nomination later on Friday in view of Mistry’s unavailability, people aware of the matter said. The Congress is set to get its first non-Gandhi president since 1998.