Congress leader and candidate for the upcoming party presidential election Shashi Tharoor said that it is up to the Central Election Authority (CEA), which is responsible to conduct fair and balanced elections within the party, to take action against Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot who openly extended support to his competitor Mallikarjun Kharge. Gehlot is an office bearer in Rajasthan Congress Committee and as per party lines was not allowed to openly support any candidate for the president’s poll.
Tharoor, who is in Madhya Pradesh to seek support for his campaign from the Congress delegates said, “It’s up to Congress’ CEA chairman to take action on it. He had clearly said that no office bearers should campaign for a candidate. It’s true that the type of welcome and fairness which I got here, I didn’t get in anEarlier on Friday, Ashok Gehlot in a video posted on his social media extended open support to Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the frontrunner in the Congress presidential race and reportedly the first choice of Gandhis as well other state.”
Earlier on Friday, Ashok Gehlot in a video posted on his social media extended open support to Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the frontrunner in the Congress presidential race and reportedly the first choice of Gandhis as well.
In the clip, Rajasthan CM can be heard asking other delegates of the party to vote for Kharge as well. The call to support is in direct contrast to the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) code of conduct that barred office-bearers from campaigning for any candidate.
“Utmost care must be taken to ensure that there is no mala fide campaign against any candidate. The same would bring disgrace to the party. The sensitivity of the election process must be upheld at any cost,” read one of the seven guidelines issued by CEA Chairman Madhusudan Mistry.
Congress Presidential Election
Congress, which is conducting its first party poll to elect chief in over 20 years, will hold the election on October 17. The last election was in November 2000, in which party chief Sonia Gandhi defeated her rival Jitendra Prasada
This is the first time that the age-old party will have a non-Gandhi president
