congress: Congress president election to be held on October 17, counting of votes on October 19
The decision was taken by the Congress Working Committee which met under the leadership of President Sonia Gandhi.
The filing of nominations for Congress president’s election will begin on September 24 and the last date is September 30.
The CWC meeting comes just a few days after senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit blaming the ‘coterie’ around Rahul Gandhi for the party’s decline.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has emerged as the top choice for the Congress president’s post. Sources said that Sonia Gandhi had requested him to contest during a meeting which she held before heading abroad for medical checkup and treatment.
The Gehlot camp has not confirmed the development, but sources have confirmed that the Congress was looking beyond the Gandhis for the top post. Gehlot himself has said that these things were coming up in the media and he had no knowledge of it.
The Central Election Authority of the Congress was awaiting a nod from the party’s working committee to announce the schedule for electing the next Congress President as the grand old party is still in search of a consensus candidate for the top post after refusal by Rahul Gandhi.
