Apparently, Gandhi remained steadfast on his stand that he and his family members will keep away from the internal polls.
After sending mixed signals for days, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has confirmed he will contest the upcoming elections for the post of Congress president. The leader had said he would urge Rahul Gandhi to become the party's president before deciding the date to file a nomination for the polls. Apparently, Gandhi remained steadfast on his stand that he and his family members will keep away from the internal polls.
"It's decided that I will contest (for the post of Congress President). I will fix the date soon (to file his nomination). It's a need for the Opposition to be strong, looking at the current position of the country," Gehlot was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
Gehlot, the preferred choice of the Gandhis for the Congress chief post, had been apparently showing reluctance in throwing his hat in the ring due to the party's new rule that no person must hold two posts.
This meant Gehlot -- who fought a pitched battle with his intra-party rival Sachin Pilot to sequester his Chief Ministership and hold on to the Rajasthan government -- would have to relinquish the coveted post should he be elected as the party's president.
He told The Indian Express on Thursday that the rule applied to those nominated, not elected leaders.
Gandhi, however, fizzled his plans. He said the Congress's rule, formulated during its Chintan Shivir earlier this year, would have to be followed.
"What we decided at Udaipur, we expect that commitment to be maintained," Gandhi said.
Gandhi had quit as the Congress president in 2019, weeks after the party's dismal show in the general elections. After weeks of negotiations, Congress leaders settled on Sonia Gandhi as interim chief.
Several senior politicians had been demanding a full-time Congress President and changes to the party's organizational structure.
A group of 23 senior Congress politicians wrote an explosive letter in 2020 demanding sweeping changes to the way the party had been functioning. Many of those leaders, including Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad, quit the party saying the leadership wasn't serious about the beleaguered party's revival plan.
Azad last month wrote a scathing letter to Sonia Gandhi, squarely blaming her son Rahul for the party's condition. He also called Rahul an immature and childish man.
The Gandhis have reportedly decided to remain neutral in the election to blunt the BJP's 'dynasty' charge.
Gehlot is likely to face Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari in the elections.
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 "Ashok Gehlot (File)")
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