Complete poll process by Sept 20: Congress to state units

New Delhi, September 14

The central election authority of the Congress on Wednesday asked all state returning officers to ensure that elections of state unit presidents and AICC delegates were completed between September 16 and 20, ahead of the issuance of notification for the Congress president’s election on November 22.

The instruction was given by central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry to all returning officers at a meeting here.

The state unit chiefs, once elected, conventionally have been passing resolutions to authorise Congress president Sonia Gandhi to nominate AICC delegates. Congress election authorities, however, say the poll process was underway and they had nothing to do with resolutions state units might pass. The elections were being held, AICC sources said.

If Rahul Gandhi declines to run for the top post, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot remains a frontrunner to contest. G-23 member Shashi Tharoor, who has been seeking electoral rolls to be made public, might contest. The nominations for elections for party chief will be filed between September 24 and 30 and elections will be held on October 17.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh today called for consensus on the post of Congress president and underlined the primacy of Gandhi family in party affairs.