Ashok Gehlot on reports of him being next Congress chief: ‘hearing this from…’

Senior Congress leader and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday downplayed the speculative reports of him being the candidate for the next party president, saying he was “hearing this from the media”.

On Tuesday, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi met Gehlot ahead of the announcement of its final schedule to elect a new party chief by September 21, sparking buzz about the Rajasthan chief minister being the front runner after Rahul Gandhi denied to take back the reins of the grand old party.

Several media reports claimed that Sonia Gandhi, who’s not keen to continue as interim chief due to health issues, on Tuesday urged Gehlot to take over.

“I am hearing this from the media. I don’t know about this. I’m fulfilling duties that have been assigned to me,” Ashok Gehlot told reporters on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Congress general secretary in charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, informed that a virtual meeting of the working committee will be held on Sunday to approve the schedule for party president election. Sonia Gandhi will preside over the CWC meeting.

“A virtual meeting of the CWC will be held on the 28th August, 2022 at 3:30 PM, to approve the exact schedule of dates for the election of the Congress President. Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi will preside over the CWC meeting,” the Rajya Sabha member tweeted.

Gehlot earlier said that the party is “unanimously” in favour of Rahul Gandhi for the post.

“If Rahul Gandhi does not become the party president, it will be a disappointment for the Congress workers in the country. Many people will sit at home and we will suffer. He (Rahul Gandhi) should accept this post by himself, understanding the sentiments of the common Congress people in the country,” Gehlot had told reporters in Jaipur.

“We will continue to put pressure and convince him to take over as the party chief,” he added.