As the race for the Chief Ministerial post in Rajasthan, Madhya Prades and Chhattisgarh, where the Congress is set to form governments, enters its final phase, party president Rahul Gandhi has sought direct inputs from Congress workers.
Gandhi has sought the views of party workers in the three states through an internal messaging platform after he sent out a pre-recorded audio message to them seeking their feedback on their choice of chief ministerial candidate in their respective states.
In the audio clip that is doing rounds on social media, Gandhi can be heard seeking the opinion of party workers on the matter. He begins by congratulating the party workers and leaders for the party's victory in the Assembly elections. Then, Gandhi goes on to say:"Now, I want to ask you a very important question. You tell me, who should be our Chief Minister. Kindly mention only one name. Only I will know whose name you are mentioning, no other person in the party will come to know of it."
Outlook could not independently verify the authenticity of the tape, although it has been widely reported in the media.
The move signals a new approach to politics by the Congress president who completed one year in office as the Chief of Grand Old Party on Tuesday when the election results of five states were declared.
The contenders for the top post in Rajasthan -- Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot -- and in Madhya Pradesh -- Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia -- arrived early morning in the national capital and are slated to hold meetings with Gandhi.
Gandhi is also likely to meet the top contenders in Chhattisgarh -- state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel, CLP leader T S Singh Deo, OBC leader Tamradhwaj Sahu and party veteran Charan Das Mahant.
On Wednesday Congress MLAs authorised Rahul Gandhi to decide the Chief Ministers as senior leaders including top contenders held hectic parleys through the day and till late in the night.
Belying predictions of exit polls, the Congress won convincingly in Chattisgarh, less so in Rajasthan, and scraped through with a wafer-thin lead in Madhya Pradesh, final results showed after the vote count on Tuesday.
The Congress emerged as the single-largest party in Rajasthan in Tuesday's vote count, winning 99 seats. It's ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won one seat for a total of 100 seats -- the required number to form the government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got 73 seats, and the Bahujan Samaj Party won 6 seats. BSP leader Mayawati on Wednesday pledged support for the Congress. The CPI(M) got two seats, Independents won 13 and other parties got 6, according to the state Election Commission.
The Congress victory in Chhattisgarh ended the 15-year rule of the Raman Singh-led BJP government. It won 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly, while the BJP got only 15 seats. A party needs to win 46 seats to form the government in the state.
The Congress got 43 per cent of the total votes polled in the state, while the BJP got 33 per cent.
After a see-saw battle on Tuesday, Congress emerged as the single largest party in Madhya Pradesh with 114 seats, two short of a simple majority. The BJP, which had ruled the state for 15 years, got 109 seats.
Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced their parties' support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where BSP has got two and SP one seat.
