Congress president elections: Sonia Gandhi summons top party leader to Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 20: Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has summoned general secretary KC Venugopal to Delhi, as talk grows of Shashi Tharoor vs Ashok Gehlot contest for the party chief elections scheduled next month.

Tharoor, a former union minister and G-23 is seen as a confirmed candidate for the top post which has been held by a Gandhi family member for over a decade now.

Rajasthan chief minister Gehlot and a Gandhi family loyalist, is expected to run against Tharoor, although reports say he prefers Rahul Gandhi returns.

Rahul Gandhi quit the post in 2019 is reluctant to hold the post after the Congress' disastrous showing in the Lok Sabha election that year. While

Sonia Gandhi has refused to hold the post citing health issues.

On the other hand, 'Make Rahul Gandhi AICC president again' chorus is growing louder in Congress with half a dozen state units so far seeking his elevation to the top post, even as uncertainty and suspense persisted over whether he would take on the mantle.

After Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat units of the Congress urged that Gandhi be made the party chief, the Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar units also passed resolutions on Monday.

Similar resolutions were passed in 2017 before Rahul Gandhi was elevated as the Congress president. He, however, stepped down in 2019 after the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.