Won't distance myself from Rajasthan till last breath: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said he won’t distance himself from the state "till his last breath", amid reports that he is the frontrunner for the Congress president's post.

Gehlot said this in the state’s Baran district, a day after he sought to play down reports about him being the favourite to become the Congress president and said efforts will be made till the last moment to persuade Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party again.

The Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, is set to meet on Sunday to decide the schedule for the election of the president.

Click to watch: Can Ashok Gehlot save Congress?

When asked about it, Gehlot told reporters in Rajasthan’s Baran district, "I won’t distance myself from the state where I was born till my last breath." "I am not away from you," he told the reporters.

The Congress had announced in October last year that the election of the new party president will be held between August 21 and September 20 this year.

Several leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, have been publicly exhorting Rahul Gandhi to return as the party chief. However, uncertainty and suspense continue on the issue. Several party insiders say Rahul Gandhi is persisting with his stance that he will not be the AICC president.

Speaking with reporters, Gehlot on Wednesday had said, "We will try to persuade Rahul Gandhi ji till the last moment to take over as the Congress president. The Congress Working Committee meeting is being held on August 28. We would like him to be the president."

"If Rahul Gandhi does not become the president, many people will be disappointed and will sit at home," he had said.

Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in parliamentary elections in 2019.

Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, had also offered to quit in August 2020 after an open revolt by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.