New Delhi, Sep 21: Soon after Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor gets the green signal from Sonia Gandhi to run for the AICC president post, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot might also join him.
CM Gehlot has told Congress MLAs that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination for the party president election.
In a meeting held at CM’s official residence, Gehlot expressed his views on contesting the internal election, said the minister.
“The chief minister will first visit Kochi and urge Rahul Gandhi to contest for the party president post,” said cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
After the meeting, the state Food and Civil Supplies Minister told reporters, “The chief minister said that if he files nomination for the party’s national president post, then legislators will get a message to reach New Delhi.”
The process of filing nominations for the organizational elections in the Congress begins on September 24 and will end on September 30, and Gehlot is increasingly being seen as a top contender for the post of the party’s national president.
The Rajasthan chief minister, however, has so far denied that he is a candidate and said he will try to convince Rahul Gandhi to contest. The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee has taken the lead in passing a resolution backing Gandhi for the post, triggering similar expressions of support from the party units in several other states.
Gehlot is considered a candidate favored by the party’s top leadership, according to some sources. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election, if required, will be held on October 17. The results will be out on October 19.
#MP shashi tharoor #AICC president post #Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot
