Shashi Tharoor gets nomination form for Congress presidential poll

The nomination process for the Congress president election started on Saturday with senior MP Shashi Tharoor becoming the first to collect the papers from the AICC headquarters.

Tharoor sent his close aide Aalim Javeri to collect "five sets" of nomination papers from the office of the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry.

Sources said Tharoor is likely to file nomination papers on September 30, the last date, as he plans to collect endorsements from party delegates from across the country.

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With Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot making it clear that he will be filing nomination, the party is now all set to witness an election for the president post for the first time in 22 years.

Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2000 and Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in the 1997 organisational elections.

Gehlot is likely to file the nominations between September 26 and 28.

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All eyes will be on Rajasthan too as the party will have to decide on Gehlot's successor. Gehlot is likely to stall his bete noir Sachin Pilot, who the party High Command supports, and ensure that one of his loyalists assume the post of Chief Minister.

On Friday, Pilot had met some MLAs while Gehlot had met his ministers. Some of the MLAs and Ministers, who are supporters of Gehlot, appear to be having a change of mind and are said to be okay with Pilot assuming Chief Ministership.

Pilot had steered the party as Rajasthan Congress president to victory in the 2018 Assembly elections but had to make way for Gehlot. Pilot had then become Deputy Chief Minister after the intervention of top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.