Congress New Chief's Election Schedule To Be Out Soon: Sources

The detailed schedule for the election of the Congress president is likely to be out in the next three-four days, party sources said on Monday.

The party's election authority has said it will stick to the schedule of electing a new chief by September 20.

Chairman of the party's Central Election Authority Madhusudan Mistry had said it was up to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to approve the final date for the election of the Congress chief but "from our side, we are ready".

"The schedule for the election of the Congress president should be out in the next 3-4 days. It would have the detailed schedule with the dates for filing nominations and withdrawal," a top source said.

The question on every Congress leader's mind is whether Rahul Gandhi will agree to lead the party again or not.

After a crucial meeting of its working committee, the Congress had announced in October last year that the election of the new Congress president will be held between August 21 and September 20 this year.

Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in parliamentary elections in 2019. Sonia Gandhi who took over the reins of the party again as interim president had also offered to quit in August 2020 after an open revolt by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.

There have been several calls by leaders publicly exhorting Rahul Gandhi to become party chief again but uncertainty and suspense continue to loom over the party's presidency conundrum.

(With PTI inputs)