PCCs passing resolution seeking Rahul Gandhi to head Congress not binding, says Jairam Ramesh

With the Pradesh Congress committees passing resolution seeking Rahul Gandhi at the helm of AICC party General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said such measures have no binding effectAmid indication that Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will contest in the partys presidential polls Ramesh also said any person could contest for the post but he personally preferred to evolve a consensus around a candidateSpeaking to reporters during the break time of the Bharat Jodo Yatra he said if consensus was not possible then the party was ready to go for an election and 9000 PCC delegates will elect the president in a democratic mannerReacting to a query about seven PCCs passing resolutions asking Gandhi to be the President of the party the former Union Minister said Congressmen are enthusiastic as they have been watching Gandhi walking for the past 13 daysBut nobody asked anyone to pass any resolution The congress party workers are enthusiastic Rahul Gandhi has not asked anyone to pass any resolution the Congress President has not asked anyone They have been watching Gandhi walking for the past 13 days They know the pain he is undergoing everyday They all can relate to him Its natural that they pass the resolution But the resolution has no binding effect Ramesh saidHe added that whether Gandhi will contest or not will be known between 24 and the 30th Currently Rajasthan Chhattisgarh Gujarat Tamil Nadu Bihar Maharashtra and Jammu Kashmir units of the party have passed the resolutionAlso Read BJPs Operation Kichad fast tracked in Goa CongressRamesh said at present the focus of the Congress party was on the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by GandhiHowever in the election anybody is free to contest It is an open process You dont need to get permission from Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi If you have the support of 10 PCC delegates you can file the nomination papers and the election will be held on October 17 Ramesh saidThe senior Congress leader also added that if there are no nominations and a consensus has reached on the candidate then the new president will be announced on October 1I would prefer a consensus to evolve around a candidate and if that is not possible then lets go for election 9000 delegates will elect the president he saidHe said the 137yearold party had to conduct an election to select its president only four times in the pastThe first time was in 1938 when Nethaji Subhash Chandra Bose was elected Then in 1950 1997 and in the year 2000The entire party is immersed in making BharatJodoYatra a success Even so its important to reiterate that any member is welcome to contest for Congress President This is a democratic amp transparent process Nobody needs anybodys nod to contest especially that of party leadership Ramesh earlier tweetedAddressing the press he also alleged that the CPIM in Kerala was the ATeam of the BJP and accused that the Left party in Kerala was trying to make the Congress party weak and the BJP to get strongerThe senior Congress leader said that the party may organise a similar Yatra from west to east of the country next year and also said that small yatras will be conducted in West Bengal Odisha and Assam states through which the current Yatra was not enteringAsked about the Congress MLAs in Goa joining the BJP Ramesh said Goa is an operation washing machine where BJP goes and buys MLAsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever