Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on September 19 got a nod from Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi to contest for the post of the party president.
He had reached out to her at a Congress meeting held today, citing he can make internal democracy stronger, news agency ANI reported.
Shashi Tharoor’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi had come amid chatters of him being a Congress president hopeful.
Sonia Gandhi reportedly told the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram that he can contest for the post of the party president if he wants and added that anybody can contest elections.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also echoed the same thoughts and said: “Anybody who wants to contest (for the post of Congress president) is free and welcome to do so. This has been the consistent position of Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi. This is an open, democratic, and transparent process. Nobody needs anybody’s nod to contest.”
Also read: MC Explains| Congress presidential election and the process it entails
The AICC general secretary in-charge of communication, publicity and media had earlier said that even if somebody else is elected as the party chief in the October 17 polls, Sonia Gandhi will continue to be a person "everybody looks up to" and insisted Rahul Gandhi will be the "ideological compass" of the grand old organisation
The notification for the Congress president's election will be made on September 22, while the filing of nominations will begin on September 25.
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