Shashi Tharoor to run for Congress president, gets Sonia Gandhi's nod: Sources
“It's your call. Elections will be held according to the electoral process,” Sonia Gandhi told Shashi Tharoor, sources said.
By Rajdeep Sardesai, Supriya Bhardwaj: Shashi Tharoor may have just got Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s go ahead to contest the party’s presidential polls on October 17. “Anyone is free to contest the Congress presidential poll,” Sonia Gandhi told Shashi Tharoor today when the MP conveyed his decision to the party’s interim chief at 10, Janpath, sources in the Congress told India Today TV.
“It's your call. Elections will be held according to the electoral process,” Sonia Gandhi told Tharoor, the sources added.
Echoing the party's interim chief, Jairam Ramesh said, "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. This is an open, democratic and transparent process. Nobody needs anybody's nod to contest.”
Tharoor, along with fellow party leaders Deepender Hooda, Jai Prakash Agarwal and Vijendra Singh, met Sonia Gandhi at her home today for a discussion over the upcoming Congress presidential election.
The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram created quite a buzz when he declared his candidacy for the post of Congress chief, calling for a contest with 'several candidates'.
Even though Tharoor is not a part of the Group of 23 dissident Congress leaders, or the G-23, he has been vocal about bringing reforms within the party. However, this March, Tharoor had met the G-23 leaders.
In an article for the Malayalam daily 'Mathrubhumi', Tharoor wrote that electing a new president would be the beginning of the revitalization the party badly needs.
ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will file his nomination for the Congress’s presidential election between September 26 and September 28 during Navratri, sources told India Today TV.
CONGRESS PRESIDENT POLLS
Facing unprecedented internal tussles, the Congress announced that it would hold a poll to elect the party’s next president on October 17. The result will be declared two days later, on October 19.
At a press conference where the party announced the election schedule, its general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said, “Anybody can contest the election. It is an open election.”
Rahul Gandhi resigned as the Congress president in 2019, taking responsibility for the party’s second consecutive defeat in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Also Read: | Shashi Tharoor meets Sonia Gandhi ahead of Congress presidential polls
