Sonia Gandhi, Rahul permission not required to contest Congress presidential poll: Party

The Congress on Wednesday said no one requires the permission of its president Sonia Gandhi or its leader Rahul Gandhi to contest in its presidential polls which is likely to be held next month if there is no consensus on who should be at the helm of the grand old partyAICC general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh speaking to the media during the break between the first and second leg of the days Bharat Jodo Yatra said Anybody is free and welcome to contest in the election if they have the backing of 10 PCC delegatesNo one requires the permission of Congress president or Rahul Gandhi to file nomination The elections will be fair and transparent No other political party in the country holds elections to select their party chiefRamesh at the same time also said that he believes in selection of the party president based on consensus as per the Kamraj modelHe invoked the view of legendary Congress leader K Kamaraj which according to him was talk to everybody and find a suitable consensus choice for leading the partyIf consensus is not possible then elections are desirable We are not running away from holding elections he saidOn who would be throwing their hats in the ring Ramesh said he does not know who all will contest but he certainly will notHe also said that he does not know whether Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will file his nomination and if he does what will happen in that stateThe Congress party has a system in place to deal with such situations he addedAlso Read More state units bat for Rahul Gandhi as Congress chief Party says its natural insists election will be fairRegarding the plans of Gandhi also the MP from Wayanad Ramesh said that September 23 was a rest day for the yatra and therefore if the former goes to Delhi it will be to meet his mother who is ill and underwent some tests recentlyHe has not met his mother for the last 23 weeks He is also a human being Will you not go and meet your mother if she is not well According to the information I have now if he goes to Delhi it will be to meet his mother and not to file the nomination Ramesh saidAmidst the ongoing speculation over who all would contest in the Congress presidential polls Gehlot one of the possible top contenders for the post and a party choice is expected to reach here in the evening to meet Rahul GandhiGehlots arch rival in Rajasthan politics and party leader Sachin Pilot is already in Kerala and was accompanying Gandhi on the first leg of the days Bharat Jodo Yatra which halted at Edappally here close to 10 AMAccording to Congress party sources Gehlot is expected to join the yatra on ThursdayGehlot is considered a frontrunner for the post as he is perceived to be having the backing and confidence of the present dispensation and is likely to be challenged by a G23 member Shashi Tharoor who has expressed his desire to contestThe Rajasthan CM however has so far denied that he is a candidate and said he will try to convince Gandhi to contestAt the same time he also told Congress MLAs a day ago that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination for the party president electionThe poll process for the Congress presidents election will begin on September 22 with the issue of the notification and the nomination filing will start from September 25 to 30 The election will be held on October 17 and the result will be out two days laterThis 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