Congress prez poll: Why Ashok Gehlot has better chance of winning than Shashi Tharoor?

New Delhi, Sep 23: Even as many names have started cropping up in the probable list of contenders for the forthcoming Congress presidential poll, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have, so far, remained strong contenders for the top post.

The process of filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to September 30. Date for the scrutiny of the nomination papers would be October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations would be October 8. The election, if there is more than one candidate, will be held on October 17, while the counting of votes, if necessary, and the declaration of results would be on October 19.

So, who has the better chance of winning the poll in case if they are the only two in the race?

Although both the leaders are popular, Gehlot stands higher chance of emerging victorious in the Congress presidential poll. Here, we tell you why.

Close to Gandhis
The first and foremost reason is that Ashok Gehlot is close to the Gandhis. Even though interim president Sonia Gandhi has reportedly stated that she will not endorse any candidate, his proximity with the Congress' first family alone tells the loyal party leaders whom they should vote in the upcoming poll.

Remember, eight Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) - West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat - have passed resolutions to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President. So, if Rahul stays out of the poll, their next choice will be Gehlot.

Gehlot is a trusted man of Sonia and Rahul and they consult him in key matters. The Rajasthan CM took active participation in the protests during the ED investigation against Gandhis in connection with money laundering case linked to National Herald case.

In case of Shashi Tharoor, he is not a Gandhi loyalist and was part of the G-23 group, which demanded the organisational overhaul.

Staunch Congressman
Ashok Gehlot has been a staunch Congressman and associated with the grand old party for four decades now. He is a five-time MP and MLA from the Congress. He has served the party in various positions and enjoys respect from rank and file.

Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor is comparatively knew to the party. He has been three-term MP from Thiruvananthapuram and his chairperson of All India Professionals' Congress, but has not held any significant positions.

Experience
The biggest advantage that Gehlot has over Tharoor is his political and administrative experience. He was Union Minister thrice (in Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao's cabinet). He was Chief Minister for three terms (1999-2003, 2008-13 and 2018-present).

As far as Tharoor is concerned, he held Union Minister post for a brief period on two occasions (2009-2010 and 2012-2014). He also serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and All India Professionals Congress. He formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2014 to 2019). In addition to the Kerala MP served in various capacities for 29 years in the United Nations.

Image
In politics, image of a person plays an important role in garnering people's support. In this regard, Ashok Gehlot is ahead of Shashi Tharoor due to his controversy-free reputation.

As far as Tharoor is concerned, the Kerala MP has ran into trouble on several occasions with one or the other controversy. Starting from facing allegations of abetment to suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar to allegations of misusing his position to buy shares in an IPL cricket franchise, he has been the controversy's favourite child.

Looking at all these factors, it does look like that Gehlot has higher chance of winning the Congress presidential poll if the elections is held between the two candidates.