Notification for the election of
Congress President will be issued on Thursday. With this, the process of choosing the person who will hold the highest office of the country's oldest political party will formally start. This notification will be issued by the Central Election Authority headed by senior party leader Madhusudan Mistry. However, many state
Congress committees have passed a resolution asking
Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party once again.
Geholat and Shashi Tharoor likely to contest elections
After
Rahul Gandhi indicated that he would not take over the reins of the party, now the chances of a contest for the post of
Congress President have increased. Senior party leader Shashi Tharoor has already indicated to contest the
elections, so
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is also likely to contest. Gehlot had said in the
Congress Legislature Party meeting in
Jaipur on Tuesday that if he files nomination for the post of party president, a message will come to the MLAs to reach
Delhi.
Many state Congress committees passed the resolution
Meanwhile, several state
Congress committees have passed resolutions saying that
Rahul Gandhi should once again take over the reins of the party. On the other hand,
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the resolutions passed by various PCCs are not binding. He also says that no one has been asked to pass the resolution. These resolutions were passed by these
Congress units after
Rahul Gandhi had indicated in Kanyakumari on September 9 that he stood by his old decision of not becoming the party president.
Congress President's post will be elected after 22 years
With
Rahul Gandhi sticking to his stand, now after 22 years, there are strong chances of an electoral contest for the post of
Congress President. In the year 2000, there was a contest between Sonia Gandhi and Jitendra Prasad, in which Prasad was defeated. Earlier, in 1997, there was a contest between Sitaram Kesari, Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot for the post of President in which Kesari won.
Venugopal disclosed about Rahul's nomination
When asked whether
Rahul Gandhi would file his nomination papers,
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had said on Tuesday, "It is for
Rahul Gandhi to decide and he has not told us anything about it. After assuming the responsibility of party chief." Despite appeals made to Rahul, the former
Congress president had said earlier this month that he had taken a decision but would not reveal his plans. If he does not contest the upcoming
elections, he will tell the reason for it.
Voting will be held on October 17
According to the announced schedule for the election of
Congress President, the notification will be issued on September 22 and the process of filing nominations will go on from September 24 to 30. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8. In case of more than one candidate, voting will be held on October 17 and results will be declared on October 19.