Congress president race heats up, Gehlot to meet Sonia Gandhi on September 29; Digvijay Singh enters race

It is learnt that Gandhi has discussed the probable candidates for the Congress' president, nomination for which will end on September 30

With just two days left for filing nomination, the battle lines for the Congress president election are not clear yet but Digvijaya Singh appeared to be emerging as a new contender while a final word on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s prospects could finally emerge on Thursday.

Sonia held deliberations with AK Antony on Wednesday evening to discuss “organisational issues”. Sources said the views of the veteran leader, whom the party chief leans on for political counsel, could have a say in the final decision. Antony has not made his mind public about the developments in Jaipur though he is a staunch Gandhi family loyalist who feels that there cannot be any challenge to the High Command.

After the meeting with Sonia, Antony also held discussions with Treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal.

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While Singh has made it clear that he has not discussed contesting elections with the Gandhis and sources claiming that it is his personal endeavour, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister expects the support of the family.

However, Singh’s prospects will depend on how Sonia’s decision on Gehlot turns out. Even if she decides against Gehlot, Singh may not be a natural choice for the Gandhi family’s support, as the leadership may look at a bunch of leaders. These include Mukul Wasnik, Mallikarjun Kharge, Meira Kumar and Kumari Selja. Sources said Kharge has conveyed to the leadership that he would abide by their decision on the elections.

Leaders are also not ruling out the possibility of more than two candidates for the October 17 elections. However, potential candidates may not be able to file nominations on Thursday as Central Election Authority chairperson Madhusudan Mistry will not be in Delhi for a day due to personal reasons.

Gehlot left Jaipur for Delhi on Wednesday night and is likely to meet Sonia on Thursday during which a clear picture of the candidates will emerge. However, there was no official word on the meeting. A section of senior leaders, including Ambika Soni, Bhupinder Hooda and Anand Sharma, spoke to Gehlot, who was Sonia’s first choice before the Jaipur rebellion, on Tuesday to find a way out.

Interestingly, there were also reports about Pilot meeting Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the residence of senior MP Rajeev Shukla.

As confusion reigned over potential candidates, Antony rubbished questions by the media about him being in the race saying, “Am I a fool? I know my health conditions and I left national politics because of that…when I say something, it is final.”

The veteran leader also sought to downplay the controversy over the elections, saying such things are part of the poll process. Asked whether he has the support of Digvijaya Singh or any other candidate, he said the media can write whatever they want.

Asked whether he would try for a compromise, he said, “I am not a crisis manager but I am optimistic that the Congress will emerge stronger after the organisational elections and after the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.”

Senior leader Kamal Nath, who is also a former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, said he is not in the race. “There is just 12 months left for Madhya Pradesh elections and if he takes a new responsibility, I will have to take my eyes off Madhya Pradesh. There are Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections and one has to strategise. I don’t want to take that responsibility as I would like to remain in MP,” he told reporters in Bhopal.