Shashi Tharoor Collects Form To Run for Congress President; First Official Entry

The Congress will vote to elect a new president on 17 October, with the results to be announced on 19 October.

File photo of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

(Photo: The Quint)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday, 24 September, collected a form to run for the post of president in the upcoming party elections. This makes Tharoor the first to officially throw his hat in the ring for the post, News agency ANI reported.

Tharoor's representative collected nomination papers for the party's presidential election from Madhusudan Mistry – the party's Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman.

In a request letter sent for his candidature, the Trivandrum MP requested five sets of nomination papers for the election.

The grand old party will vote to elect a new president on 17 October, with the results to be announced on 19 October.

For the first time in over 23 years, the Congress party could have a president who is not from the Gandhi family. 

 The current elections appear to have three candidates:

• Shashi Tharoor, Trivandrum MP, who said he had received Sonia Gandhi's approval to contest for the post of president

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

• Former President Rahul Gandhi, who hasn't indicated that he will be running for the post, but has received vociferous support from at least 11 state units for the post

At present, Ashok Gehlot has held firm on the demand that he will only take up the post of the AICC president if he can also continue as the chief minister of Rajasthan.

According to Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, this is not allowed under the 'Udaipur Declaration' which mandates that one party member only hold one post.

Meanwhile, the Tharoor camp, along with four other MPs, has demanded that the electoral rolls be made public.

Elections in the Congress

The Indian National Congress is India's oldest political party, tracing back to 1885. In this time, the party has elected or appointed presidents 97 times.

The Congress is required to hold organisational elections every five years.

The last time the party held an election for the president's post was in 2017, when Rahul Gandhi was appointed as the president of the party unopposed.

However, after the Congress' defeat in the 2019 general Assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi resigned as the president, and Sonia Gandhi was appointed as the interim president of the CWC.

(With inputs from ANI.)