Congress President Poll: After Tharoor and Gehlot, now Manish Tewari likely to throw hat in the ring

New Delhi: With Congress preparing to elect the successor of party chief Sonia Gandhi, former Union minister Manish Tewari is the latest among the list of contenders speculated to be in the fray.

The party today issued an official notification announcing the schedule for the election to the post of party president. The elections are slated to be held on 17 October at all Pradesh Congress Committees with results being announced on 19 October, immediately after the counting of votes.

Sources close to the Sri Anandpur Sahib MP said on Thursday that he is considering throwing his hat in the ring after Sonia Gandhi made it clear that anybody can run in the poll.

Tewari’s consideration to contest comes amid the reports of several party top leaders being in the fray.

Tewari is part of the G-23, a group of dissenters who had written to Sonia Gandhi seeking reforms in the party.

Interestingly, he is the only leader from the group considering to contest for the post after the exit of veteran leader and group member Ghulam Nabi Azad on 26 August this year. The leader from Jammu and Kashmir had stepped down terming the organisational election process of the Congress as “a farce and a sham”.

“The entire organisational election process is a farce and a sham. At no place anywhere in the country have elections been held at any level of the organisation. Handpicked lieutenants of the AICC has been coerced to sign on lists prepared by the coterie that runs the AICC sitting in 24 Akbar Road,” Azad had written in his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi.

He had also hit out at Rahul Gandhi in his letter.

Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on his Bharat Jodo Yatra is not likely to file nominations for the election.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is one of the top picks of the Gandhi family as the successor to Sonia Gandhi, in case Rahul abstains from the race.

On 19 September, Shashi Tharoor met Sonia Gandhi at her residence in the national capital where he expressed his wish to contest the polls to “make internal democracy” in the party stronger. Gandhi giving her nod to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, said that anybody can contest elections. Tharoor had also met with party’s Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Wednesday.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh is likely to contest for the position of party’s national president, sources said today. According to sources, Singh will reach Delhi today, where he is likely to meet party interim chief Sonia Gandhi.

The election of the Congress president is slated for 17 October and the counting of votes will take place on 19 October.

Mistry said those who want to contest for the post of president will need the signatures of 10 Pradesh Congress committee delegates.

Amid growing buzz about his nomination, Gehlot has said he is ready to discharge any responsibility given to him by the party. He met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.

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