Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh, at a press conference on Sunday, underlined that “Congress is the only party which holds such an election for its party chief”. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal added, “The election schedule is out. Anybody who wants to contest should file nomination.”
Quick Edit: Presidential elections signal a shift in Congress functioning
If Rahul Gandhi does not agree to helm the party, then Gehlot remains the top contender for a non-Gandhi president. While he is reluctant, it is said that Gehlot may also want to continue as Rajasthan chief minister if he is pushed to become the AICC chief, or would want a loyalist as his successor and not his bête noire Sachin Pilot.
While Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leader of the G23 dissident group, has left Congress, speculations are rife about Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor and Prithviraj Chavan contesting the polls. That, however, may happen only if Rahul Gandhi does not relent on his decision to stay away from the party presidency, and “there is an attempt to foist a puppet”, as Azad had alleged in his resignation letter.
Pushing for a contest, G23 member Prithviraj Chavan slammed the discussion on whether Gehlot could be the next party president. “Why are you taking the reverse path? You will confirm the name in advance and then conduct elections, does this ever happen? Hold elections, whoever has to fight, will fight,” he said. “If backseat driving continues by making a puppet president, then the party will not be able to survive,” he added.