Notification for AICC president polls released by Congress' election authority
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New Delhi: The process of choosing Sonia Gandhi's successor as Congress party leader began on Thursday with the central election body of the Congress issuing a notification for the AICC president elections.
According to the authority granted to him by Article XVIII of the Indian National Congress Constitution, Chairman of the Central Election Authority Madhusudan Mistry declared that the election of the party's president would take place in accordance with the specified timeline in the announcement.
According to the notification, the process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30.
The date of scrutiny of the nomination papers would be on October 1, while the last date of withdrawal of nominations would be October 8. The election, if there is more than one candidate, will take place on October 17. The counting of votes and the declaration of results would be on October 19.
"Now, therefore, I hereby call upon the delegates of the Congress Party to elect the President of Indian National Congress in accordance with the provision made under Article XVIII," Mistry said in the notification.
The nomination form will be available at the AICC Office, 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi, according to the notification, PTI reported.
The race for the Congress president's post heated up on Wednesday with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot giving a clear indication that he could enter the poll fray and Shashi Tharoor meeting the party's poll panel chief to enquire about the nomination formalities.
After over two decades, the Congress is set to see a contest for the post of party chief.
The next elections will undoubtedly be historic since the new president would succeed Sonia Gandhi, the party's longest-serving leader, who has held the position since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi took over. The party last saw a contest for the post in November 2000.
Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2000 and prior to that Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997.