The Congress may have a non-Gandhi president for the first time in over 20 years.
New Delhi:
Soon after reports of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor getting the green signal from Sonia Gandhi to run for party President, the grand old party’s communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh in what is being seen as a veiled swipe at Mr Tharoor, said, “Nobody needs anybody’s nod to contest, especially that of party leadership”.
“Entire party is immersed in making #BharatJodoYatra a success. Even so it’s important to reiterate that any member is welcome to contest for Congress President. This is a democratic & transparent process. Nobody needs anybody’s nod to contest, especially that of party leadership,” he tweeted.
Entire party is immersed in making #BharatJodoYatra a success. Even so it’s important to reiterate that any member is welcome to contest for Congress President. This is a democratic & transparent process. Nobody needs anybody’s nod to contest, especially that of party leadership.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 20, 2022
Mr Tharoor met with Sonia Gandhi, who is just back from a trip abroad for a medical check-up, on Monday afternoon and got her go-ahead to contest the October 17 election.
The Congress may have a non-Gandhi president for the first time in over 20 years. Ashok Gehlot, a Gandhi family loyalist, will likely run for party president opposite Shashi Tharoor, who is among those in the party who want major internal reforms.
Shashi Tharoor, a former Union Minister, was the first to declare his intention to run for a post that has been with the Gandhis — either Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul — for much of 25 years. He is a prominent member of the Congress’s G-23 or group of 23 leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 calling for an organisational overhaul and blaming the party’s downward spiral on a leadership drift.
The last non-Gandhi Congress President was Sitaram Kesari, from whom Sonia Gandhi took over in March 1998 – around two years after the Narasimha Rao government was voted out.
Source link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/when-entire-party-jairam-rameshs-veiled-dig-at-shashi-tharoor-over-congress-president-claim-3360181