Congress President Elections: Sources say Rahul Gandhi wants the party to choose a non-Gandhi president.
The election of a new Congress president has been delayed once again with the party desperately hoping Rahul Gandhi will change his mind and agree to leading the party again. A new Congress chief will take over before Diwali (October 24), sources say.
The Congress was to have a new president by September 21, but sources say the deadline has been extended by a month. The party has citied an "inauspicious period" before the festivals besides Rahul Gandhi's resistance to the top role.
The Congress's most powerful body will meet on Sunday to finalise a schedule. The Congress Working Committee will meet virtually as all three Gandhis- Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka- are flying abroad for her medical check-up. They are likely to go to Italy to visit Sonia Gandhi's mother, who is unwell.
Rahul Gandhi has refused to return as Congress president after he quit I 2019 owning responsibility for the party's clobbering in the national election.
Sonia Gandhi, who took over as interim chief on the party's request after her son's resignation, has already said no citing her health.
That leaves Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, whose first major political assignment- the Uttar Pradesh election-proved to be a disaster.
Sources say Rahul Gandhi wants the party to choose a non-Gandhi president.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, 71, is seen as the leading candidate if all three Gandhis are out of the race.
Mr Gehlot has denied that Sonia Gandhi had offered him the post of Congress president and insists that that there was no question of anyone other than Rahul Gandhi leading the party.
"We will try till the very last to ensure that Rahul Gandhi becomes Congress president," he said.
A report in The Hindu newspaper said Sonia Gandhi, before flying abroad, spoke with Mr Gehlot on Tuesday in a closed-door meeting and asked him to take over.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Gehlot said he had paid a courtesy call before going to Gujarat. "She has given me two tasks - the Gujarat election and Chief Minister of Rajasthan. My job is to continue as Chief Minister at present - that is my responsibility and that there is no anti-incumbency at present - and to look after the elections of Gujarat," he said.
On whether he considered himself a candidate for Congress president, he said: "I never become the candidate. I do whatever the high command tells me. I have been a disciplined soldier all my life. I will remain so."
He had earlier said Rahul Gandhi must respect the sentiments of Congress workers and accept the top post.
"If Rahul Gandhi does not become the party president, it will be a disappointment for the Congressmen in the country. Many people will sit at home and we will suffer. He (Rahul Gandhi) should accept this post by himself, understanding the sentiments of the common Congress people in the country," Mr Gehlot had said.
The Congress has been led by a member of the Gandhi family for much of its 136-year-old history.