Rahul Gandhi officially stepped down as Congress President on July 3, sharing his resignation letter on Twitter. Following his resignation, speculations are rife about who will assume the top post. Here are some of the senior Congress leaders who could take charge as the next party chief.
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Sachin Pilot: Pilot is the young face of the Congress party and currently serves as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
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Shashi Tharoor: A Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor is also a writer and a former career diplomat.
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Capt. Amarinder Singh: He is the Chief Minister of Punjab, and is widely credited for the party's good performance in the state at a time when Congress suffered a rout elsewhere in the country.
Sushil Kumar Shinde: The senior leader from Maharashtra is widely speculated to be the next Congress chief. He was a Union Minister in the Manmohan Singh government. (Image: Reuters)
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Ghulam Nabi Azad: He is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and has also been a former Union Minister.
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Ashok Gehlot: The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, he had reportedly come under criticism from within the party after Congress' poor showing during Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan.
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Mallikarjun Kharge: Known to be Congress' go-to man, Kharge was the leader of Congress during the 16th Lok Sabha.
Priyanka Gandhi: Her entry into politics created ripples across political circles. She was made the Congress' chief of eastern Uttar Pradesh but failed to make any impact.
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AK Antony: He served as the Defence Minister during the Manmohan Singh regime. (Image: Reuters)
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KC Venugopal: He is a senior Congress member and a former Lok Sabha MP. He was also a minister in the Congress government. (Image: KC Venugopal/Twitter)
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Motilal Vora: The 90-year-old is a veteran of Congress party and a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
