- Mallikarjun Kharge files nomination to contest Congress president polls
- Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi submitted his nomination papers for the Congress president election
- Gandhi family is and remains foundational pillar of Congress, our moral conscience, ultimate guiding spirit: Tharoor to PTI
- Congress leader Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma say they support Kharge's candidature
- Shashi Tharoor files nomination for Congress president
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Friday said his colleague Mallikarjun Kharge will file nomination for the party president's election.
He said that he and P L Punia will be proposers for Kharge's candidature and Digvijaya Singh, who collected nomination papers on Thursday, may not contest, reports PTI.
Tiwari indicated that a consensus could be reached on who will take over the top party post from Sonia Gandhi. Kharge is likely to file his nomination papers around noon, he said.
Kharge is one of the most experienced persons in the party and he is a Dalit leader too, Tiwari said. Friday is the last day for filing nominations for the top party post.
On Friday, Digvijaya Singh met his colleagues Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal after which it was announced that he would not contest elections for the post of Congress president, according to NDTV.
Singh had collected nomination papers for the party president election on Thursday, even as Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race.
Kharge seems to be entering the contest with the blessings of the Gandhi family. And there is speculation that Singh may replace Kharge as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha if the latter becomes the party chief.
The 'one-man, one-post' formula will apply to Kharge, as in the case of Gehlot, who was asked to quit as chief minister if he contested for the top party post.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor will also file his nomination papers on Friday.
