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Tag: Congress presidential polls

  • Not disappointed, election has galvanised Congress workers: Tharoor on losing party prez polls 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost the party’s presidential poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said he talked about the election’s outcome with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and she stated that it was not surprising that “people would back one of their own”.

    In the poll, winning candidate Kharge was backed by several senior leaders while Tharoor had pitched himself as the candidate of change, largely supported by lesser-known party workers.

    Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai’s biography, Tharoor also said he was not disappointed about the result as the poll had galvanised party workers.

    Mohsina Kidwai’s biography has been written by her along with senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai.

    Asked if he was disappointed and disheartened with the result, Tharoor, said, “No, I am not disappointed because I think it was very clear from the earliest moments of the campaign that the establishment, minus the rare case of a Mohsina Kidwai or a Saifuddin Soz or a few other fellow MPs, was going to rally behind him (Kharge) and that inevitably happened and I have no complaints about that.”

    ALSO READ | ‘One face for me, another for media’: Mistry slams Tharoor over ‘poll irregularities’ charge

    “In fact, Sonia Ji and I were talking today about the election and she was saying, it’s not surprising that people would sort of back one of their own and I said ‘absolutely, I wasn’t surprised,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    After the event, he said that he had met Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor said he was gratified by the extent to which the entire election process galvanised people on both sides and party workers.

    “I have now made new relationships with our party workers all over the country that I would never have had a chance without this election,” he said.

    “I feel that many of them have touched me and I have touched them in ways that I believe would have a lasting value in our respective political innings in the party.

    So, I was very pleased about all of that and I believe there is a lot to be learnt in the positive sense from having an exercise like this,” the Congress leader said.

    Tharoor also said he was quite amused to see the ruling BJP’s spokespeople attacking the Congress for his mistreatment to which he had responded that “we can fight our own internal battles but try holding your own election first before you comment on ours”.

    At the book launch, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah called for Opposition unity to take on the present dispensation.

    He urged Tharoor to keep strengthening the Congress and keep standing by the party and its leader.

    Abdullah also said though he and his father Sheikh Abdullah had suffered at the hands of the Congress, he believes the party can help save the country.

    In his remarks, Mani Shankar Aiyar said he would have been a proposer for Tharoor’s candidature for Congress presidential polls but the Kerala MP told him his name was not on the voters’ list.

    After asking around, Aiyar finally found his name on the list.

    Aiyar said Tharoor fought the polls well and noted that he made it clear during the campaign that it was a friendly fight and not a contest against rivals.

    Aiyar said Tharoor was a champion of change while Kharge was a champion of continuity and if both views meet going forward, the party was a winner in the polls.

    Besides Kidwai, Tharoor, Abdullah and Aiyar, senior Congress leaders and former Union ministers Shivraj Patil and Sushilkumar Shinde were present at the book launch.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost the party’s presidential poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said he talked about the election’s outcome with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and she stated that it was not surprising that “people would back one of their own”.

    In the poll, winning candidate Kharge was backed by several senior leaders while Tharoor had pitched himself as the candidate of change, largely supported by lesser-known party workers.

    Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai’s biography, Tharoor also said he was not disappointed about the result as the poll had galvanised party workers.

    Mohsina Kidwai’s biography has been written by her along with senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai.

    Asked if he was disappointed and disheartened with the result, Tharoor, said, “No, I am not disappointed because I think it was very clear from the earliest moments of the campaign that the establishment, minus the rare case of a Mohsina Kidwai or a Saifuddin Soz or a few other fellow MPs, was going to rally behind him (Kharge) and that inevitably happened and I have no complaints about that.”

    ALSO READ | ‘One face for me, another for media’: Mistry slams Tharoor over ‘poll irregularities’ charge

    “In fact, Sonia Ji and I were talking today about the election and she was saying, it’s not surprising that people would sort of back one of their own and I said ‘absolutely, I wasn’t surprised,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    After the event, he said that he had met Sonia Gandhi.

    Tharoor said he was gratified by the extent to which the entire election process galvanised people on both sides and party workers.

    “I have now made new relationships with our party workers all over the country that I would never have had a chance without this election,” he said.

    “I feel that many of them have touched me and I have touched them in ways that I believe would have a lasting value in our respective political innings in the party.

    So, I was very pleased about all of that and I believe there is a lot to be learnt in the positive sense from having an exercise like this,” the Congress leader said.

    Tharoor also said he was quite amused to see the ruling BJP’s spokespeople attacking the Congress for his mistreatment to which he had responded that “we can fight our own internal battles but try holding your own election first before you comment on ours”.

    At the book launch, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah called for Opposition unity to take on the present dispensation.

    He urged Tharoor to keep strengthening the Congress and keep standing by the party and its leader.

    Abdullah also said though he and his father Sheikh Abdullah had suffered at the hands of the Congress, he believes the party can help save the country.

    In his remarks, Mani Shankar Aiyar said he would have been a proposer for Tharoor’s candidature for Congress presidential polls but the Kerala MP told him his name was not on the voters’ list.

    After asking around, Aiyar finally found his name on the list.

    Aiyar said Tharoor fought the polls well and noted that he made it clear during the campaign that it was a friendly fight and not a contest against rivals.

    Aiyar said Tharoor was a champion of change while Kharge was a champion of continuity and if both views meet going forward, the party was a winner in the polls.

    Besides Kidwai, Tharoor, Abdullah and Aiyar, senior Congress leaders and former Union ministers Shivraj Patil and Sushilkumar Shinde were present at the book launch.

  • Tharoor’s fate as Congress president to be known soon

    Express News Service

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Congress presidential elections on Monday, Shashi Tharoor updated his cover photo on his Facebook page with a picture of him waving to the crowd with the caption, “Member of Parliament, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala”. Tharoor who had put on a formidable fight against Mallikarjun Kharge had flown back to New Delhi on Monday evening. In fact, he even found time to release a book by author A Khyrunnisa amid his hectic schedule.Ever since Tharoor filed his nomination papers on September 30, he had been travelling the length and the breadth of the country seeking the support of all the Pradesh Congress Committee office bearers. Even though Tharoor’s MP office has been functioning normally in Thiruvananthapuram, he was hardly there for a couple of days. Now he is back in his MP role as is evident from his Facebook page. That may be why he found time to release one of his favourite writer’s books before dashing off to catch the last flight to New Delhi on Monday evening.Even when a cross-section of the State Congress leaders wanted to see Tharoor withdraw his nomination, they knew that he, being a man of ‘principled stand’ will not change his stand. Oommen Chandy who shares an excellent camaraderie with Tharoor was a worried lot after many of his loyalists showed allegiance to Tharoor when nomination papers were signed.It was Oommen Chandy’s trusted loyalist Thampanoor Ravi who first signed the nomination paper and also voted first in favour of Tharoor on Monday. Two senior Congress MPs confirmed to TNIE that Oommen Chandy had personally spoken to leaders like KC Abu and KM Oommer from Kozhikode to change their stand. Among the 13 leaders from the State who had proposed Tharoor in his five sets of nomination papers, these two leaders had also signed.”They have been upset with the leadership for repeatedly being sidelined despite sweating hard for the party for decades. So they were keen to shift sides and with the support of Kozhikode MP MK Raghavan, they decided to endorse Tharoor. Oommen Chandy and few other leaders spoke to them, but we do not know whether they have abided”, echoed two senior Congress MPs.If that’s the case, the vote share from Tharoor’s home state will come down. The fan following of Tharoor in all the states he went for campaigning resembled an election campaign towards the run up to the Lok Sabha election. He is aware that most of them were members of All India Professional Congress Committees, and majority of them do not have voting right in the presidential election.Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden who had endorsed Tharoor told The New Indian Express that his wings should not be clipped once the poll outcome is known on Wednesday. “Tharoor should stay in the Congress party and fight. He is always a resourceful person whose true potential has never been utilized. The major problem that Tharoor is facing is that he is in the Opposition where there are limitations to use his real prowess”, said Hibi Eden.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Congress presidential elections on Monday, Shashi Tharoor updated his cover photo on his Facebook page with a picture of him waving to the crowd with the caption, “Member of Parliament, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala”. Tharoor who had put on a formidable fight against Mallikarjun Kharge had flown back to New Delhi on Monday evening. In fact, he even found time to release a book by author A Khyrunnisa amid his hectic schedule.
    Ever since Tharoor filed his nomination papers on September 30, he had been travelling the length and the breadth of the country seeking the support of all the Pradesh Congress Committee office bearers. Even though Tharoor’s MP office has been functioning normally in Thiruvananthapuram, he was hardly there for a couple of days. Now he is back in his MP role as is evident from his Facebook page. That may be why he found time to release one of his favourite writer’s books before dashing off to catch the last flight to New Delhi on Monday evening.
    Even when a cross-section of the State Congress leaders wanted to see Tharoor withdraw his nomination, they knew that he, being a man of ‘principled stand’ will not change his stand. Oommen Chandy who shares an excellent camaraderie with Tharoor was a worried lot after many of his loyalists showed allegiance to Tharoor when nomination papers were signed.
    It was Oommen Chandy’s trusted loyalist Thampanoor Ravi who first signed the nomination paper and also voted first in favour of Tharoor on Monday. Two senior Congress MPs confirmed to TNIE that Oommen Chandy had personally spoken to leaders like KC Abu and KM Oommer from Kozhikode to change their stand. Among the 13 leaders from the State who had proposed Tharoor in his five sets of nomination papers, these two leaders had also signed.
    “They have been upset with the leadership for repeatedly being sidelined despite sweating hard for the party for decades. So they were keen to shift sides and with the support of Kozhikode MP MK Raghavan, they decided to endorse Tharoor. Oommen Chandy and few other leaders spoke to them, but we do not know whether they have abided”, echoed two senior Congress MPs.
    If that’s the case, the vote share from Tharoor’s home state will come down. The fan following of Tharoor in all the states he went for campaigning resembled an election campaign towards the run up to the Lok Sabha election. He is aware that most of them were members of All India Professional Congress Committees, and majority of them do not have voting right in the presidential election.
    Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden who had endorsed Tharoor told The New Indian Express that his wings should not be clipped once the poll outcome is known on Wednesday. “Tharoor should stay in the Congress party and fight. He is always a resourceful person whose true potential has never been utilized. The major problem that Tharoor is facing is that he is in the Opposition where there are limitations to use his real prowess”, said Hibi Eden.

  • Congress presidential polls: About 96 per cent turnout; no adverse incident reported, says Mistry 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: About 9,500 of the total around 9,900 electors cast their votes in the Congress presidential polls, the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Monday.

    The overall voter turnout was about 96 per cent and in small states, it was nearly 100 per cent, he said at a press conference after voting ended in the Mallikarjun Kharge versus Shashi Tharoor contest.

    By and large the voter turnout in all places was over 90 per cent, Mistry said adding that this was provisional data.

    “The most satisfactory thing for us was that in all states where polling booths were set up, no adverse incident was reported. This is a big achievement…polls were held in an open process in a peaceful manner,” Mistry said.

    “Congress party has shown what internal democracy is and other parties that want to take a lesson from it, can do so,” he said.

    Mistry said no one should have any apprehensions as it is a secret ballot and nobody will get to know who voted for whom.

    ALSO READ | Congress polls HIGHLIGHTS: Voting ends in ‘loyalist’ Kharge vs ‘change seeker’ Tharoor contest

    He said the ballot boxes will arrive by Tuesday evening and before the counting begins, they will be mixed thoroughly.

    Three ballot boxes, two of Delhi state and one of AICC headquarter, have been received, he said.

    Mistry said 87 delegates cast their vote at the party headquarter here.

    Asked about elections to the Congress Working Committee, Mistry said it depends on the next president and the plenary session of the Congress.

    “When the plenary meets, if it decides to have an election of the CWC, there will be elections.  But the president has to take a call on the CWC as well as the CEC (central election committee) but I am not in a position to comment on it today,” he said.

    Kharge is considered the favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.

    NEW DELHI: About 9,500 of the total around 9,900 electors cast their votes in the Congress presidential polls, the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Monday.

    The overall voter turnout was about 96 per cent and in small states, it was nearly 100 per cent, he said at a press conference after voting ended in the Mallikarjun Kharge versus Shashi Tharoor contest.

    By and large the voter turnout in all places was over 90 per cent, Mistry said adding that this was provisional data.

    “The most satisfactory thing for us was that in all states where polling booths were set up, no adverse incident was reported. This is a big achievement…polls were held in an open process in a peaceful manner,” Mistry said.

    “Congress party has shown what internal democracy is and other parties that want to take a lesson from it, can do so,” he said.

    Mistry said no one should have any apprehensions as it is a secret ballot and nobody will get to know who voted for whom.

    ALSO READ | Congress polls HIGHLIGHTS: Voting ends in ‘loyalist’ Kharge vs ‘change seeker’ Tharoor contest

    He said the ballot boxes will arrive by Tuesday evening and before the counting begins, they will be mixed thoroughly.

    Three ballot boxes, two of Delhi state and one of AICC headquarter, have been received, he said.

    Mistry said 87 delegates cast their vote at the party headquarter here.

    Asked about elections to the Congress Working Committee, Mistry said it depends on the next president and the plenary session of the Congress.

    “When the plenary meets, if it decides to have an election of the CWC, there will be elections.  But the president has to take a call on the CWC as well as the CEC (central election committee) but I am not in a position to comment on it today,” he said.

    Kharge is considered the favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.

  • I don’t withdraw from challenge, never will: Tharoor dismisses talk of withdrawing from Congress prez poll

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress presidential polls candidate Shashi Tharoor on Saturday dismissed talk of him withdrawing from the election, asserting that he never backs down from a challenge and “it is a fight to the finish”.

    Tharoor, who has been aggressively campaigning in the polls, also asserted that it was a “friendly contest” within the party that was taking place and he is here to stay the course.

    Tharoor is set to take on Mallikarjun Kharge in the polls.

    “There are rumours going around attributed to sources in Delhi that I am withdrawing (from the polls) today. Let me assure you, I don’t withdraw from a challenge, never have all my life, never will,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said in a video message on Twitter.

    Surprised to get calls saying that “sources in Delhi” claim that I have withdrawn! I am on this race till the finish. #ThinkTomorrowThinkTharoor pic.twitter.com/zF3HZ8LtH5
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 8, 2022
    “This is a struggle, it is a friendly contest within the party, but it is a fight to the finish and I am here to stay the course. Please come and vote on October 17. For me, ‘Think tomorrow, think Tharoor’,” Tharoor said. His remarks come on the last date for the withdrawal of nominations which is October 8.

    According to a notification issued by Congress, the process for filing nominations for the election was from September 24 to 30. The polling will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

    NEW DELHI: Congress presidential polls candidate Shashi Tharoor on Saturday dismissed talk of him withdrawing from the election, asserting that he never backs down from a challenge and “it is a fight to the finish”.

    Tharoor, who has been aggressively campaigning in the polls, also asserted that it was a “friendly contest” within the party that was taking place and he is here to stay the course.

    Tharoor is set to take on Mallikarjun Kharge in the polls.

    “There are rumours going around attributed to sources in Delhi that I am withdrawing (from the polls) today. Let me assure you, I don’t withdraw from a challenge, never have all my life, never will,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said in a video message on Twitter.

    Surprised to get calls saying that “sources in Delhi” claim that I have withdrawn! I am on this race till the finish. #ThinkTomorrowThinkTharoor pic.twitter.com/zF3HZ8LtH5
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 8, 2022
    “This is a struggle, it is a friendly contest within the party, but it is a fight to the finish and I am here to stay the course. Please come and vote on October 17. For me, ‘Think tomorrow, think Tharoor’,” Tharoor said. His remarks come on the last date for the withdrawal of nominations which is October 8.

    According to a notification issued by Congress, the process for filing nominations for the election was from September 24 to 30. The polling will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

  • New Congress chief cannot be remote-controlled by Gandhi family: Rahul

    Gandhi also said that by nature he believes in 'tapasya' and wanted an element of suffering in this communication to people through the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

  • Kharge resigns as Leader of Opposition in RS; Digvijaya, Chidambaram in race to replace him 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said on Saturday, a day after he filed his nomination papers for the AICC president’s election.

    Kharge’s resignation, which the 80-year-old leader sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is in line with the party’s declared ‘One person, One post’ principle that was announced at the Udaipur ‘Chintan Shivir’ in May.

    The resignation letter was sent by Kharge last night, the sources said.

    Senior leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are learnt to be the front-runners to take on the mantle of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

    ALSO READ | Congress President poll: Mallikarjun Kharge set to win with backing of party big guns 

    The stage was set on Friday for a contest between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor for the Congress president’s post. Kharge, a Dalit leader from Karnataka has emerged as the clear favourite. 

    The third candidate in the fray, K N Tripathi, a former Jharkhand minister, is considered a lightweight for the contest.

    Kharge, Tharoor and Tripathi filed nominations on the last day of the process which saw the AICC headquarters come back to life after a long time, with workers swarming the complex.

    Kharge, flanked by top Congress leaders, has filed 14 sets of nomination papers with the proposers including Ashok Gehlot, Digvijaya Singh, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and members from the G-23 ginger group comprising Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan and Manish Tewari.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said on Saturday, a day after he filed his nomination papers for the AICC president’s election.

    Kharge’s resignation, which the 80-year-old leader sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is in line with the party’s declared ‘One person, One post’ principle that was announced at the Udaipur ‘Chintan Shivir’ in May.

    The resignation letter was sent by Kharge last night, the sources said.

    Senior leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are learnt to be the front-runners to take on the mantle of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

    ALSO READ | Congress President poll: Mallikarjun Kharge set to win with backing of party big guns 

    The stage was set on Friday for a contest between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor for the Congress president’s post. Kharge, a Dalit leader from Karnataka has emerged as the clear favourite. 

    The third candidate in the fray, K N Tripathi, a former Jharkhand minister, is considered a lightweight for the contest.

    Kharge, Tharoor and Tripathi filed nominations on the last day of the process which saw the AICC headquarters come back to life after a long time, with workers swarming the complex.

    Kharge, flanked by top Congress leaders, has filed 14 sets of nomination papers with the proposers including Ashok Gehlot, Digvijaya Singh, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and members from the G-23 ginger group comprising Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan and Manish Tewari.

  • Shashi Tharoor files nomination for Congress president polls

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday filed his nomination for the post of Congress president at the party headquarters here.

    The Thiruvananthapuram MP submitted his papers to the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry at his office at the AICC headquarters.

    Amid the sound of drumbeats and fanfare, he made an entry at the AICC headquarters.

    #CongressPresidentElection | Senior Congress leader & MP Shashi Tharoor reaches the AICC office in Delhi to file his nomination for the post of #CongressPresident pic.twitter.com/cI5vMGogSJ
    — ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2022
    Tharoor visited Rajghat in the morning and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi ahead of filing his nomination papers for the party’s presidential poll. “Paid tribute to the man who built India’s bridge to the 21st century this morning,” Tharoor said in a tweet.

    He quoted former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as saying, “India is an Old country but a young nation. I dream of India Strong, Independent, Self-Reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world, in the service of mankind.” Polling will take place on October 17 and the result will be announced on October 19.

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday filed his nomination for the post of Congress president at the party headquarters here.

    The Thiruvananthapuram MP submitted his papers to the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry at his office at the AICC headquarters.

    Amid the sound of drumbeats and fanfare, he made an entry at the AICC headquarters.

    #CongressPresidentElection | Senior Congress leader & MP Shashi Tharoor reaches the AICC office in Delhi to file his nomination for the post of #CongressPresident pic.twitter.com/cI5vMGogSJ
    — ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2022
    Tharoor visited Rajghat in the morning and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi ahead of filing his nomination papers for the party’s presidential poll. “Paid tribute to the man who built India’s bridge to the 21st century this morning,” Tharoor said in a tweet.

    He quoted former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as saying, “India is an Old country but a young nation. I dream of India Strong, Independent, Self-Reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world, in the service of mankind.” Polling will take place on October 17 and the result will be announced on October 19.

  • Digvijaya Singh to file nomination for post of Congress president

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has decided to file nomination for the post of the party president for which the election is scheduled to be held on October 17. He is expected to arrive in the national capital on Wednesday night.

    Sources close to Singh on Wednesday said the decision to contest the polls is his personal one, adding nobody from the Gandhi family has asked him to do so.

    The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister may file the nomination by September 30.

    Congress’ initial plan was to field Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for the top party post but the high-octane drama in Rajasthan has miffed the Gandhis.

    Sources in the know of things said “Gehlot has not been ruled out from the race yet”.

    Congress treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has taken a nomination form from the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA). On his part, Bansal said he is only a proposer, not the candidate.

    CEA chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday had said: “Till now, Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Bansal have taken nomination forms from the CEA.”

    Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath whose name had also come up and had met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday, said that he does not want to become the party chief, and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh.

    The drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a ‘Plan B’ for the top party post for which Gehlot was being seen as a contender. However, the open defiance by his MLAs loyal to him brought him under a cloud.

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has decided to file nomination for the post of the party president for which the election is scheduled to be held on October 17. He is expected to arrive in the national capital on Wednesday night.

    Sources close to Singh on Wednesday said the decision to contest the polls is his personal one, adding nobody from the Gandhi family has asked him to do so.

    The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister may file the nomination by September 30.

    Congress’ initial plan was to field Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for the top party post but the high-octane drama in Rajasthan has miffed the Gandhis.

    Sources in the know of things said “Gehlot has not been ruled out from the race yet”.

    Congress treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has taken a nomination form from the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA). On his part, Bansal said he is only a proposer, not the candidate.

    CEA chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday had said: “Till now, Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Bansal have taken nomination forms from the CEA.”

    Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath whose name had also come up and had met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday, said that he does not want to become the party chief, and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh.

    The drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a ‘Plan B’ for the top party post for which Gehlot was being seen as a contender. However, the open defiance by his MLAs loyal to him brought him under a cloud.

  • Rajasthan CM Gehlot to visit Delhi, meet Congress high command

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will meet the Congress high command in New Delhi on Wednesday amid suspense over whether he will file a nomination for the post of party president, sources here said.

    Gehlot’s visit comes a day after the Congress issued show-cause notices to three of his loyalists – Rajasthan ministers Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi, and Dharmendra Rathore – for their “grave indiscipline”.

    The party’s disciplinary committee has asked the three to explain within 10 days why action should not be initiated against them after the observers for Rajasthan – Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken – in their report to party chief Sonia Gandhi charged them with “gross indiscipline”.

    The action came after 82 MLAs participated in a parallel meeting at Dhariwal’s residence in Jaipur laying down conditions to the party and did not attend the official legislature party meeting convened for passing a resolution authorising the Congress chief to appoint a successor to Gehlot, who was to contest the Congress presidential election.

    With the Rajasthan episode posing a significant challenge before the party, the Congress president has initiated discussions with senior party leaders from across the country to resolve the crisis even as the fate of Gehlot who was considered frontrunner for the top party post remained uncertain.

    Several names have cropped up for the probable presidential candidate including Kharge, A K Antony, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Ambika Soni and Pawan Kumar Bansal, though most of them ruled themselves out of the race.

    The name of Gehlot for the top party post is, however, not completely ruled out yet, according to informed sources.

    Among various senior leaders, Gandhi is learnt to have called Congress veterans A K Antony and Sushilkumar Shinde for consultations here. There is also a likelihood that fresh observers may be sent to Rajasthan and Shinde may be one of them.

    Gandhi is considering resolving the matter after consultations with top party leaders who are keeping their fingers crossed on the situation.

    After the developments in Jaipur, sources said Gehlot has reached out to Sonia Gandhi and is learnt to have explained his position, while his arch-rival Sachin Pilot rushed to Delhi ahead of any decision on Rajasthan.

    Gehlot is learnt to have told Gandhi that he was not behind the parallel meet of MLAs and it was organised without his knowledge.

    The Rajasthan chief minister is also understood to have told Gandhi that he would abide by any decision taken by her and the party, the sources said.

    Gehlot also held a closed-door meeting with party MLAs in Jaipur on Tuesday and is learnt to have apprised them of the latest developments.

    Gehlot was considered as the favourite for the post of Congress president and had the blessings of Sonia Gandhi. The latest developments have marred his prospects for the top party position, though he is yet not out of the race.

    Amid suspense over Gehlot’s fate, the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday said AICC treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has got nomination forms collected but they might be for someone else.

    Bansal said he was not in the race. Mistry said Shashi Tharoor will file his nomination papers for the Congress chief’s election on September 30 and his representative has got two more nomination forms today.

    Mistry said he met party chief Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence and handed over her QR-coded identity card for the party president’s election. He later met former prime minister Manmohan Singh and handed over identity card to him.

    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will meet the Congress high command in New Delhi on Wednesday amid suspense over whether he will file a nomination for the post of party president, sources here said.

    Gehlot’s visit comes a day after the Congress issued show-cause notices to three of his loyalists – Rajasthan ministers Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi, and Dharmendra Rathore – for their “grave indiscipline”.

    The party’s disciplinary committee has asked the three to explain within 10 days why action should not be initiated against them after the observers for Rajasthan – Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken – in their report to party chief Sonia Gandhi charged them with “gross indiscipline”.

    The action came after 82 MLAs participated in a parallel meeting at Dhariwal’s residence in Jaipur laying down conditions to the party and did not attend the official legislature party meeting convened for passing a resolution authorising the Congress chief to appoint a successor to Gehlot, who was to contest the Congress presidential election.

    With the Rajasthan episode posing a significant challenge before the party, the Congress president has initiated discussions with senior party leaders from across the country to resolve the crisis even as the fate of Gehlot who was considered frontrunner for the top party post remained uncertain.

    Several names have cropped up for the probable presidential candidate including Kharge, A K Antony, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Ambika Soni and Pawan Kumar Bansal, though most of them ruled themselves out of the race.

    The name of Gehlot for the top party post is, however, not completely ruled out yet, according to informed sources.

    Among various senior leaders, Gandhi is learnt to have called Congress veterans A K Antony and Sushilkumar Shinde for consultations here. There is also a likelihood that fresh observers may be sent to Rajasthan and Shinde may be one of them.

    Gandhi is considering resolving the matter after consultations with top party leaders who are keeping their fingers crossed on the situation.

    After the developments in Jaipur, sources said Gehlot has reached out to Sonia Gandhi and is learnt to have explained his position, while his arch-rival Sachin Pilot rushed to Delhi ahead of any decision on Rajasthan.

    Gehlot is learnt to have told Gandhi that he was not behind the parallel meet of MLAs and it was organised without his knowledge.

    The Rajasthan chief minister is also understood to have told Gandhi that he would abide by any decision taken by her and the party, the sources said.

    Gehlot also held a closed-door meeting with party MLAs in Jaipur on Tuesday and is learnt to have apprised them of the latest developments.

    Gehlot was considered as the favourite for the post of Congress president and had the blessings of Sonia Gandhi. The latest developments have marred his prospects for the top party position, though he is yet not out of the race.

    Amid suspense over Gehlot’s fate, the party’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday said AICC treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has got nomination forms collected but they might be for someone else.

    Bansal said he was not in the race. Mistry said Shashi Tharoor will file his nomination papers for the Congress chief’s election on September 30 and his representative has got two more nomination forms today.

    Mistry said he met party chief Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence and handed over her QR-coded identity card for the party president’s election. He later met former prime minister Manmohan Singh and handed over identity card to him.

  • You will see the support I enjoy when I submit my nomination paper, says Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI

    PALAKKAD: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed he has the support of party workers from across the country for his bid to fight the AICC president polls.

    Amid uncertainty over Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s candidature for the top party post, Tharoor also met Rahul Gandhi on the sidelines of Bharat Jodo Yatra at Pattambi in this north Kerala district.

    Tharoor said it was a courtesy call as Gandhi was in his home district. “You will see the support I enjoy when I submit my nomination paper. I will be in the fray if I get support from party workers from the majority of the states. So many people from different parts of the country have requested me to be in the fray,” Tharoor told reporters reacting to a query on his candidature for the Congress president’s post.

    Tharoor said he was interested in fighting the poll but the picture will be clearer only after September 30, the last date for submitting nomination papers.

    The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who has got the nomination form for the poll collected from the Congress headquarters last Saturday, said a candidate should fight the polls with confidence. “I have got the form. I am meeting people and talking to them”, he said.

    Asked whether he has the support of the Nehru-Gandhi family in fighting the polls, the Congress leader said he had discussed the matter with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka and “and all three have directly told me that they don’t have any issues”.

    He also claimed the support of party workers in Kerala in his bid to fight the polls. Tharoor had met Sonia Gandhi last Monday and expressed his intention to contest the poll. The Congress president conveyed she would stay “neutral” in the elections, according to sources.

    Sonia Gandhi had welcomed the idea of more people contesting the poll and dispelled the notion that there would be an “official candidate”.

    According to a notification issued by the party on Thursday, the process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30.

    The date for a scrutiny of the nomination papers is October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8.

    The final list of candidates will be published at 5 pm on October 8. The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day. More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll. The Congress last saw a contest for the party president’s post in November 2000.

    Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2000 and prior to that, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997.

    PALAKKAD: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday claimed he has the support of party workers from across the country for his bid to fight the AICC president polls.

    Amid uncertainty over Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s candidature for the top party post, Tharoor also met Rahul Gandhi on the sidelines of Bharat Jodo Yatra at Pattambi in this north Kerala district.

    Tharoor said it was a courtesy call as Gandhi was in his home district. “You will see the support I enjoy when I submit my nomination paper. I will be in the fray if I get support from party workers from the majority of the states. So many people from different parts of the country have requested me to be in the fray,” Tharoor told reporters reacting to a query on his candidature for the Congress president’s post.

    Tharoor said he was interested in fighting the poll but the picture will be clearer only after September 30, the last date for submitting nomination papers.

    The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who has got the nomination form for the poll collected from the Congress headquarters last Saturday, said a candidate should fight the polls with confidence. “I have got the form. I am meeting people and talking to them”, he said.

    Asked whether he has the support of the Nehru-Gandhi family in fighting the polls, the Congress leader said he had discussed the matter with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka and “and all three have directly told me that they don’t have any issues”.

    He also claimed the support of party workers in Kerala in his bid to fight the polls. Tharoor had met Sonia Gandhi last Monday and expressed his intention to contest the poll. The Congress president conveyed she would stay “neutral” in the elections, according to sources.

    Sonia Gandhi had welcomed the idea of more people contesting the poll and dispelled the notion that there would be an “official candidate”.

    According to a notification issued by the party on Thursday, the process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30.

    The date for a scrutiny of the nomination papers is October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8.

    The final list of candidates will be published at 5 pm on October 8. The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day. More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll. The Congress last saw a contest for the party president’s post in November 2000.

    Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2000 and prior to that, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997.