Rahul unlikely to contest; 'reluctant' Gehlot gets battle-ready to take on Tharoor: Top updates on Congress prez polls

The Congress is likely to witness a contest for the post of party chief after 22 long years with Shashi Tharoor looking set to enter the fray after his meeting with interim president Sonia Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot being seen as the other contender. 

The upcoming polls would certainly be historic as the new president would replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi took over.

The party last saw a contest for the 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.

Here are the top updates on Congress presidential election:

With Rahul Gandhi likely to stick to his earlier stance of not taking on the mantle of party president, it seems the party will have its first non-Gandhi president in over two decades. Also, with Sonia Gandhi asserting that she would remain "neutral" in the polls and there would be no "official candidate" it could be a keener contest than the one in 2000.

Gehlot called a meeting of Congress MLAs in Jaipur on Tuesday night. The meeting came ahead of his planned visit to Delhi on Wednesday. The meeting ahead of his visit to the national capital could be his move to not just show his strength but also prevent any move by the leadership to replace him with Pilot.

While Gehlot seems to have agreed to file his nomination for the party chief election, he remains reluctant towards accepting the party chief post, given the fact that he will have to cede the CM post to his rival Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan. 

Gehlot, experts believe, is not ready to give up the CM post, and even if he does, he is would want a loyalist to take over the top job in the state which goes to polls next year. 

Earlier this month, renowned journalist Rasheed Kidwai told DNA India that if Gehlot throws his hat in the ring, it is possible that the G-23 grouping would field a candidate. Speculations were rife with Tharoor calling for "free and fair" elections after the party announced the poll schedule. 

Tharoor, who was among the group of 23 leaders who had written to Gandhi in 2020 demanding organisational overhaul, also endorsed a petition on Monday by a group of young party members seeking "constructive reforms".

On the other hand, Pradesh Congress Committees have been passing resolutions seeking Rahul Gandhi’s return to the helm. However, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said that such measures have no binding effect.

The process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election, if required, will be held on October 17. The results will be out on October 19.