Congress leadership race opens up: It's Digvijaya vs Tharoor vs Gehlot for now

New Delhi, Sep 29: In a fresh twist to the Congress presidential election saga, the name of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh has made the battle interesting as G23 leader Shashi Tharoor is likely to file the nomination on Friday.

Digvijaya Singh, a long-time Gandhi loyalist, is the latest entrant in the fray for the party chief's election, may file the nomination even as the fate of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot contesting the party chief's election is uncertain. However, it remains unclear whether the Gandhis will back Singh if he files the nomination.

The Congress presidential polls, in which a non-Gandhi is expected to be elected, have been marred by the political crisis in Rajasthan over leadership change after Gehlot emerged as top contender in the party's presidential polls.

The political drama started after Gehlot loyalists opposed the elevation of Sachin Pilot to the state's top job if the former gets elected as the party chief because of the his rebellion against the CM back in 2020.

The party had issued notices to three loyalists of Ashok Gehlot over their actions in the political crisis in the state.

Nominations for the Congress president's election can be filed till September 30 and the election results will be declared on October 19.

Amid the crisis, some other names apart from Gehlot and Tharoor have also emerged as possible presidential candidates. The grand old party last held the elections for the post of party chief in November 2000 in which Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi. Prior to that, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997.