Most Congress leaders’ priority is to pick Rahul Gandhi as president

NEW DELHI: Under the changed circumstances after Ghulam Nabi Azad’s resignation, pressure is again increasing on Rahul Gandhi to accept the post of Congress president. If sources are to be believed, the party’s priority is to persuade the Gandhi scion to become party chief. If Rahul Gandhi does not agree, then interim party chief Sonia Gandhi would be urged to continue. In the event of both the members of the Gandhi family refusing to accept the post, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is considered to be the family’s most trusted leader, may be the first choice for Congress president’s post. Now the question is who will replace Gehlot in case he is elevated. Sources say that the party may ask Gehlot to continue as CM as well. If replacing Gehlot in Rajasthan is unavoidable, then a leader of his choice will be made CM in his place. With this in view, the names of Shanti Dhariwal, B.D. Kalla and C.P. Joshi, who are all close to Gehlot, are doing the rounds. The final decision will happen only after Rahul Gandhi returns from abroad. He is likely to return on Sunday morning itself, the day when a rally is being organised by the Congress. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to return on 10 September. Hence, it is believed that the scenario on Congress presidential nominee could be clear only on 24 September, the day when the nomination process starts. By then, the first phase of the Rahul Gandhi-led “Bharat Jodo Yatra” would have been completed.
Congress’ target right now is to make its Sunday rally a grand success, for which workers and leaders from across the country have started reaching New Delhi from Saturday itself. The rally will take place at Ramlila Maidan. Rahul Gandhi is likely to proceed to Gujarat the day after the rally. After this, he will start his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari from 7 September. In the meantime, the party will deliberate on and finalise a name for the post of president.
Azad’s resignation has triggered a split in the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir. The party is on the brink of a split in Maharashtra too. There is no positive news from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala either. The party is worried after leaders like Manish Tiwari and Shashi Tharoor raised questions on Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates. A large section of the party wants Rahul Gandhi to take over the Congress reins amid such disturbing developments. However, Rahul Gandhi has to take a final call. If Gehlot becomes party president, then the party high command will have to take some decisions regarding Rajasthan. It is Gehlot who has been able to keep his MLAs together. The high command is aware that the Congress government would have fallen if Gehlot had not been there at the helm. The rebels led by Sachin Pilot could not succeed in their plan to topple the government because of Gehlot’s alertness. The leadership is said to be upset with Pilot, which is why the former Deputy CM has not been given any post as of now. The party is in no mood to give importance to those who rebelled against Congress’ Rajasthan government. So, in view of the political volatility in Rajasthan, a leader of Gehlot’s choice will be the CM if such a situation arises. In an interesting development, Sachin Pilot had asked his loyalist MLAs to turn up for a meeting at his residence in Jaipur. But only six to seven legislators reached there. Sources say that at least four legislators refused to be a part of any future campaign to destabilise the government. This suggests that all the Congress MLAs and independents are firmly behind Gehlot. Now all eyes are on what step Gehlot’s detractors take after the Congress presidential polls.