Shashi Tharoor gears up for Congress presidential polls; Rahul to be in Delhi on September 22

Sonia has earlier learnt to have urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to lead the party but he appears to be reluctant

Shashi Tharoor is gearing up to fight for the Congress president post after party chief Sonia Gandhi welcomed “a contest” during a meeting with him, setting stage for a high voltage contest in which Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is speculated to be his potential opponent.

Sonia is learnt to have earlier urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to lead the party but he appears to be reluctant as he wants to retain control of the state and does not want to leave space for his bete noir Sachin Pilot.

The central leadership appears to be in no mood to accede to such a demand and if there is a stalemate, they will have to look at options like Mukul Wasnik even as Gehlot is insisting that Rahul should be the party chief.

Also read | After Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh Congress too wants Rahul Gandhi as party chief

As the heat on the organisation election increases, former party president Rahul Gandhi, who has made it clear that he does not intend to return at the helm, will take a break from the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to be in Delhi on Friday, a day ahead of nominations for the presidential election starts.

Sources said Rahul is likely to fly from Kerala, where the yatra is presently progressing, to Delhi on Thursday night and return the next day late evening. The yatra will halt till Rahul rejoins and during his brief stay in Delhi, the former Congress president is likely to be involved in deliberations on presidential candidates.

The discussions on the presidential election gathered pace with Tharoor meeting Sonia at 10 Janpath during which Thiruvananthapuram MP advocated the need for holding organisational elections that could strengthen inner party democracy.

Sonia was also on the same page and welcomed a “contest” in which anyone can file nominations, sources said adding she has already told Central Election Committee Madhusudan Mistry to ensure that the polls are held in a fair manner and is learnt to have conveyed her position to Tharoor also.

Also read | Bharat Jodo Yatra: Is nobility of purpose enough?

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “anybody who wants to contest is free and welcome to do so. This has been the consistent position of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. This is an open, democratic and transparent process. Nobody needs anybody's nod to contest.”

Sources said Tharoor is all set to contest against anybody though he would like to be supported by the Gandhi family.

However, he would withdraw from the fray if Rahul changes his mind and steps in the battlefield, as the clamour for Rahul as party president is rising parallely with nine state units – Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Puducherry – already passing resolutions in the past three days seeking his return to the helm. The Jharkhand unit is likely to pass a similar resolution on Tuesday while the Telangana unit will do the same the next day.

While Tharoor does not want to be seen as a rebel candidate, sources said there are differences in the G-23 camp with senior MP Manish Tewari advocating a contest against anyone, including one from the Gandhi family.

Tharoor did not speak to the media after he met Sonia though it is learnt that the Thiruvananthapuram MP, who had signed the G-23 letter seeking clarity on leadership issues in August 2020, discussed the organisational elections. Though he has not made any direct comments on contesting the organisational polls, sources said Tharoor was looking at options about contesting and the possibilities.

Besides Tharoor, Sonia also met JP Agarwal, Avinash Pande and Deepender Hooda. After his meeting, Agarwal said all Congressmen want Rahul to be the president but whether he contests or not is his decision.

While Tharoor and G-23 leaders are for a contest, senior leaders like P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh are batting for a consensus candidate.

Interestingly, hours before his meeting with Sonia, Tharoor endorsed an online petition by a group of young Congress members seeking reforms and a pledge by presidential candidates to implement the Udaipur Declaration in entirety, if elected.

Sharing the petition, which was signed by over 650 people so far, on Twitter, Tharoor said, "I welcome this petition that is being circulated by a group of young Congress members, seeking constructive reforms in the Party. It has gathered over 650 signatures so far. I am happy to endorse it & to go beyond it."

He along with leaders like Manish Tewari and Karti Chidambaram had raised questions on electoral rolls for the party presidential polls but later said they were satisfied with the explanation provided by party’s Central Election Committee chairperson Madhusudhan Mistry.

DH had on September 14 reported that Tharoor was likely to meet Sonia once she returns from abroad. Sonia will also meet Gehlot and other leaders before the issuance of notification to decide on a candidate.