Jaipur/Kochi : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has made a formal announcement to contest the election of Congress President.
Gehlot, after meeting Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi in Kochi on Friday, said that Rahul has made it clear that no one from the Gandhi family will become the Congress President this time. Gehlot said that he would file nomination for the post of president, the order of the high command is paramount for him.
Responding to questions from the media, Gehlot said that he has requested Rahul Gandhi many times to become the president but he has refused and said that this time no Gandhi family person will contest for the post of Congress President. Rahul said that he knows that everyone wants and he respects them. He said that the State Congress Committees passed the resolution, if the workers want it then he has a lot of respect for them, but once it has been decided for some reasons that this time someone from outside the Gandhi family should become the Congress President.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi’s ‘one man, one post’ statement in the context of Congress leadership and his possible successor as chief minister if he wins the presidential election, Gehlot said the current party president Sonia Gandhi and Ajay Maken, in-charge of party affairs in Rajasthan and general secretary, will take a decision in this regard.
Regarding the date of nomination, Gehlot said that he would fix the date now but it has been decided that he would contest. He said that this is a matter of inner democracy, let’s all make a new beginning together. He said given the conditions of the country, it is very important for the opposition to be strong, and they will leave no stone unturned for that. All those who are his Congress colleagues, even if they contest, even then it doesn’t matter, he said that after the results of the elections, they would like to strengthen the Congress organisation at the block level, village level, district level, and by making the base their ideology, they will move forward and form a strong opposition.
