NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers for the post of Congress president on December 4 amid indications that he is likely to be elected unopposed.
“A contest will take place only if someone files a nomination against him. We will get to know that in the next few days,” Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Mullapally Ramachandran told The New Indian Express.
“The nominations are open after we issued the notification for the poll. The nominations will close by 3 pm on December 4,” he said.
The electoral college for the election of Congress president comprises around 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee members who have been elected during the internal polls conducted by the CEA over the past three months.
According to Mullapally, a minimum of 10 PCC members can propose the name of a candidate, who must also sign the nomination papers.
Mullapally refused to comment on who would propose Rahul’s name but said there was great enthusiasm in the party over his elevation
“I can’t speak on that issue. That is for the party to decide. My job is to conduct the election as per procedure and in a fair manner,” he said.
If there is no candidate other than Rahul by December 4, it would be clear that he will be elected unopposed but an official announcement would be made only on December 11, the last date for withdrawal of nomination. In case of a contest, voting will take place on December 16 and result would be out on December 19.
“The procedure requires the CEA to wait till December 11 before it can make a formal announcement. We know the media is excited but we can’t deviate from the poll schedule,” said an AICC functionary.