New Delhi, Sep 3 : More than 9000 Congress members will vote to choose the next president of the party The election will take place following a long gap of 22 years, which ended on the 17th of October.In the previous election, which took place in 2000, the current interim President Sonia Gandhi had defeated Jitendra Prasada, who got only 94 of of 7,542 votes.
Before the election, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot by securing 6,224 votes.Pawar had won 882 votes while Pilot was able to secure 354 votes.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has, however, decided not to run for the party’s chief post this time despite efforts are being made to convince him to run.
Senior leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Salman Khurshid have stated they will attempt to persuade Rahul Gandhi on the issue.
In advance of the announcement of the elections, some Congress leaders have addressed the question of the electoral roll, stating that it should be made available to the public.
Party leaders like Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor have already voiced their views about the subject of electoral rolls.
They have asked the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) which is headed by the senior Congress head Madhusudan Mistry, to make the electoral rolls accessible by making them accessible through the Congress website.
However the CEA has stated that the lists will be made accessible only to those who are running in the election.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation), K.C.Venugopal said that the list (the list) is an internal issue and therefore, cannot be released to the public.
“The timetable for the election of the party’s chief is already announced and those who wish to run for the position must file their nomination by September 30th,” he said.
In a statement highlighting the necessity of an electoral college with a clear definition, Karti Chidambaram said any election that is ad hoc is useless.
He stated: “Every election needs a clearly defined and clear electoral college.The procedure of creating the electoral college should be well-defined, clear and transparent.An ad-hoc electoral college is not an electoral college.”
The leaders of the Congress G-23 camp also planning to participate in the presidential elections scheduled for the 17th of October with the former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan being considered “key candidates” according to sources.
There was no clarity about the situation at the G-23 was seeking extensive changes in the party, has been recently stricken by the resignation of senior leaders like Ghulam Azad, Kapil Sibal and others.
Tharoor was reported to have offered hints of a run for the top post in the party in an article published on Monday, but has not said whether he is going to join the contest.
According to sources from the party, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is the front-runner for the position of the Congress President.
He is thought to be the preferred the preferred choice of the interim chief Sonia Gandhi even as some would like to see the return of Rahul Gandhi.
It is interesting to note that Gehlot has also suggested that the Gandhi Scion’s name.
With this in mind the G-23 was believed to have decided to file a candidate if Gandhi is a candidate in the election to become Congress president.
It remains to be observed whether the G-23 camp will do so since Sonia Gandhi’s decision is not likely to be questioned.
According to the poll schedule the date of the issue of notice is September 22 whereas nominations can be submitted between 11 a.m.until 3 p.m.between September 24 to.The scrutiny will take place at the beginning of October.The deadline for withdrawal of withdrawing is on October 8.
The polling will be held beginning at 10 a.m.until 4 p.m.on the 17th of October at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters.
The count of votes will take place on the 19th of October.
miz/pgh
