Gehlot to run for party chief since no Gandhi wants the role

Ernakulam: Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, claimed on Friday that Rahul Gandhi had declined to run for party president and prefers a non-Gandhi to do so.

Gehlot said, "I will be filing nomination soon and it's the need of the hour that opposition should be strong, and I will fix the date of nomination."

However, Gehlot said the party will decide the issue of who will be the new Rajasthan Chief Minister. Earlier, Gehlot tried to make a point to carry on as Chief Minister of the state and run for party president's post as well.

However, it is not clear yet whether Gehlot will first resign and contest or will be elected and then resign as Chief Minister.

Sachin Pilot is a strong contender for the Chief Ministership while hectic lobbying is going on in the state with C.P. Joshi and B.D. Kalla throwing the hat in the ring, but a final decision will be taken by the party leadership.

Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the Congress will adhere to the 'one man one post' as per the Udaipur declaration.

When asked about this, he said "I think we have made a commitment in Udaipur and hope that it will be fulfilled."

The statement comes as a big relief for Sachin Pilot, who is pitching for the Chief Ministership of Rajasthan.

Amid hectic political lobbying, there is a likely contest between Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor while Suresh Pachauri also met Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, besides Mukul Wasnik and Pawan Bansal.

With inputs from IANS