- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan who till recently was a leading candidate in the race for the next president of the Indian National Congress, said on Thursday (29) that he will not be a part of the contest any more.
The veteran leader’s remarks came after his meeting with the grand-old party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi. He said he took the decision after the recent political crisis in his state.
“I met Rahul Gandhi in Kochi and requested him to fight the polls (for Congress President). When he didn’t accept, I said I’ll contest but now with that incident (political crisis in Rajasthan), I have decided not to contest the elections,” Gehlot was quoted as saying by Asian News International.
The chief minister also apologised for the crisis in Rajasthan which was triggered by his loyalists over a possible leadership change in the state after the former was set to file his nomination papers for the election scheduled for October 17.
“I had a conversation with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. Whatever happened two days ago shocked us. It gave a message that all of it happened as I wanted to be CM. I apologised to her,” Gehlot told media persons after his meeting with Sonia.
Digvijaya Singh, a member of the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the Indian parliament and a former chief minister of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday said that he will contest the polls for the president.
The 75-year-old told reporters outside the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi that he was to collect his nomination form from the party’s Central Election Authority and that he was likely to file his nomination on Friday (30).
“Today I have come here to collect the nomination form and will possibly file it tomorrow,” Singh said.
Singh added that the decision to contest was solely his and he had not consulted with anybody else. “I represent myself…The time is between 11 and 3 (when he will file the nominations tomorrow),” Singh told the media persons.
Senior parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor has also announced that he will submit his nomination for the post at 12.15 pm local time on Friday.
The result of the election will be announced on October 19.
[With ANI inputs]
