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Cong prez polls: With Gehlot out of race, here's a list of those still in fray
The last date for filing nominations for the forthcoming Congress presidential elections in September 30. If polling is needed, it will be held on October 17, and the counting of votes and declaration of results will be done on October 19.
In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced that he will not be contesting the forthcoming Congress presidential elections. His statement came after he met with party interim boss Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in Delhi, and apologised to her for the mass rebellion of MLAs in Rajasthan earlier this week. Gehlot's decision came only hours after Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh said that he is going to run for the polls, and will file his nomination for the same tomorrow.
The political impasse in Rajasthan brewed after Gehlot loyalists refused to accept former deputy CM of the state Sachin Pilot as the CM's successor. They wanted someone from their (Gehlot) camp to be given the responsibility. Gehlot, however, had refused of having played any hand at the rebellion and even apologised to Mallikarjun Kharge when the latter along with Ajay Maken went to Jaipur as Congress central observers to allay the crisis.
Also Read | 'Up to Sonia Gandhi…': Gehlot's cryptic reply to question on future as Raj CM
With Gehlot, out of the race to become the next Congress president, only a few remain to eye for the top post in the grand old party. Here are all the details.
Confirmed participants
1. Shashi Tharoor
The Thiruvananthapuram MP will file his nomination tomorrow as per latest reports. He had got his nomination form collected from the Congress party's headquarters on last Saturday. The former Union minister has claimed he has the support of his party workers in the bid to claim the top role in Congress, but stressed that the picture will be clearer after September 30.
2. Digvijaya Singh
The Congress veteran, who announced earlier today that he will contest the party presidential elections, said that the decision was his solely and he did not speak to the Gandhi family. He collected his nomination papers from the AICC headquarters in Delhi, and is expected to file the nomination tomorrow.
Speculated entrants and leaders who dismissed reports of contest
1. Mallikarjun Kharge
Another Congress veteran and the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Kharge is not averse to running for the party presidential polls if Gandhi asks him to, news agency PTI reported. A loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, a close associate of the leader said Kharge has told the Congress interim boss that “whatever the party decides, he will adhere to it”.
2. Pawan Bansal
Senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry, who is overseeing the presidential elections, said on Tuesday that Bansal collected two forms from the AICC headquarters but failed to clarify whether it was for him or someone else. Bansal, however, later dismissed the possibility of him running for the Congress top post.
3. Kamal Nath
The president of Congress' Madhya Pradesh unit and former CM was urgently called to Delhi earlier this week amid the crisis in Rajasthan. He met Gandhi on Monday, but while speaking to reporters outside of 10 Janpath, Nath quashed reports of him contesting the party presidential elections. “I have no interest,” he said.
3. Other leaders
Some of the other names that are doing the rounds are Mukul Wasnik, Sushilkumar Shinde, and Kumari Selja.
The last date for filing nominations for the Congress presidential polls in September 30, while the following day, the nomination papers are expected to be scrutinised. The last date for withdrawal of nominations in October 8, and at 5pm on the same day, the final list of the candidates will be revealed by the grand old party. The polling, if needed, will take place on October 17, and the results will be declared on October 19.
(With inputs from agencies)
