Is Digvijaya Singh the new piece in the Congress poll puzzle?

New Delhi, Sep 22: A day after expressing interest to contest the Congress presidential poll, senior leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said that people have to wait till September 30 to know whether or not he is contesting the election.

On being asked about whether he will also file his nomination for the post of Congress president, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said, "People should wait till September 30."

September 30 is the last day for the nomination.

In an interview with NDTV on Wednesday, he stated that he might join the Congress presidential poll race along with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Kerala MP Shashi Thaoor.

On asking whether he will endorse Gehlot or Tharoor in the poll, he said, "Let's see. I am not ruling myself out also, why do you want to keep me out?" Thus indicating that he might be the third man in the party's first poll in two decades.

The former Madhya Pradesh CM will reportedly meet interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday evening.

On Wednesday, Ashok Gehlot met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi. During the meeting, Gandhi is learnt to have told the Rajasthan Chief Minister that the election for party chief will be "free and fair" and she will not endorse any name, sources told news agency ANI.

The interim president has also conveyed that the issue of "one person, one post" will come if the candidate is decided and gets elected. On his turn, Gehlot told Gandhi that he is open for any role in the party.

Nonetheless, he will make a last-ditch effort to convince Rahul Gandhi to take up the party president's post. Gehlot said he will take decisions with which the Congress is strengthened.

The process of filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to September 30. The date for a 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.