New Delhi: Ashok Gehlot, the frontrunner for Congress president, said Friday that Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that no one from the Gandhi family should become the party chief.
While addressing the media in Kerala today, Gehlot added that he would file his nomination for the election soon. He said the Opposition needs to be strong considering the current position of the country.
Gehlot’s confirmation has added to the buzz over the Rajasthan chief minister’s office, which the Congress leader may have to vacate in lines with the party’s Chintan Shivir reforms that called for “one party, one post”.
Ashok Gehlot, the probable candidate for the Congress chief post, has been trying to convince Rahul Gandhi to take up the key post he gave up after the party’s debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabah election.
“I have requested him (Congress MP Rahul Gandhi) multiple times to accept everyone’s proposal of becoming the Congress president. He made it clear that no one from the Gandhi family should become the next chief,” Gehlot said.
Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party president after two decades. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Thiruvanathapuram MP Shashi Tharoor are being seen as the likely contenders. Congress Presidential election would certainly be historic as the new president would replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998.