New Delhi, Sep 24: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today collected the form to run for the post of party president, making him the first leader to officially enter the contest.
A prominent member of the Congress’s G-23 or group of 23 leaders, Tharoor was the first to declare his intention to run for the post that has been with the Gandhis — either Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul — for over 20 years.
Tharoor, who has got Sonia Gandhi’s go-ahead to contest the October 17 election, has a tougher challenge from Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist, who is being backed by those batting for status quo and a return of Rahul Gandhi at the top post.
Tharoor’s collegaue from Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, and former union minister Manish Tiwari, who, in 2020 along with Tharoor had written to Sonia Gandhi calling for an organizational overhaul and blaming the party’s downward spiral on a leadership drift, are also reported to be interested too.
This will be the first election in over two decades without any Gandhi as the default choice for president.
Rahul Gandhi, who is currently leading the party’s “Bharat Jodo” yatra, has firmly turned down appeals by his party members, including Gehlot, to return as president – a post he resigned after the 2019 general election debacle.
(Courtesy ndtv.com)