NEW DELHI: Elections to the post of Congress president may see a contest between senior party leader Shashi Tharoor and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Tharoor, who met interim party chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Monday, has received the go-ahead to contest the polls, scheduled to be held on October 17, said sources.
“Anyone can contest the election. It will be fair and transparent,” Sonia reportedly told Tharoor, a member of the G-23 group, which has been seeking internal reforms in the party. Earlier in the day, the Thiruvananthapuram MP had also supported a petition by party members demanding ‘reforms’ in the Congress.
He tweeted, "I welcome this petition that is being circulated by a group of young Congress members, seeking constructive reforms in the Party. It has gathered over 650 signatures so far. I am happy to endorse it and to go beyond it."
The filing of the nominations for the post of president will begin in three days. Endorsing Sonia’s view, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the election is an open, democratic and transparent process. “Anybody who wants to contest is free and welcome to do so. This has been the consistent position of the Congress president and Rahul Gandhi. Nobody needs anybody’s nod to contest,”
he said.
Tharoor met Sonia along with leaders like Deepender Hooda, Jai Prakash Agarwal and Vijendra Singh. The move comes after states such as Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat passed resolutions to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president.
Five party MPs, including Tharoor, had earlier written to the Congress poll panel chief Madhusudan Mistry, demanding “fair and transparent elections”.
In reply, Mistry had said that elections are open and there is nothing to hide. Sonia took over as the interim chief after Rahul relinquished the post after the party’s debacle in the 2019 elections.