Guwahati: Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Thursday that he will run for party president even as Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, travelled here for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi following a revolt among his supporter MLAs in the state.
Singh informed reporters that he was there to pick up his nomination form from the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) and that he will probably register his nomination tomorrow in front of the AICC headquarters. Singh stated, “Today I have come here to get the nomination form and may file it tomorrow.”
He said that he had made the choice to contest alone, without consulting anybody else. “I speak for myself… When he files the nominations tomorrow, it will be between 11 and 3 o’clock “Singh spoke with the media.
Singh asked to wait and see until October 8, the deadline for withdrawing nominations, in response to the question of whether his entry into the race for the top Congress position will pit him against Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who has also been a top contender in the race in addition to Shashi Tharoor.
Wait till the withdrawal date of August 8, said the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Singh said when questioned about the matter, “Why don’t you take me seriously?
The seasoned leader arrived in the city late on Wednesday night after meeting Rahul Gandhi in Kerala during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Digvijaya Singh’s participation has made the race for the top position in the Congress fascinating because G23 leader Shashi Tharoor is expected to submit his nomination on Friday.
Only Shashi Tharoor has officially declared his candidacy for party president as of this time, but Gehlot has been the subject of rumours. Before Gehlot entered the race, the party experienced significant political unrest in Rajasthan, and as a result, a show-cause notice was sent to three of his supporters, raising some doubt about Gehlot’s candidacy.
The meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) that was planned to take place on Sunday evening at Gehlot’s residence in Jaipur with observers present was not attended by the MLAs from the Gehlot camp. Over 90 MLAs presented their resignations to Speaker CP Joshi after Gehlot supporters met with Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal at his home.
On Wednesday, Gehlot attempted to downplay the political problem in the state for which the party’s central leadership has issued show-cause notice to three of his supporters, saying, “Internal politics goes on, we’ll address it.”
Gehlot explained to reporters that the party is governed by the Congress president and that choices would be made later.
He claimed that while members of Congress worried about the direction the nation is heading, solving the problem was more crucial.
The nomination process for the next president of Congress will run through September 30. The outcome of the election will be announced on October 19.
The next chief minister would be decided in a day or two, according to Congressman KC Venugopal, who earlier in the day claimed that there is “no drama” in the state.