The Congress party is slated to elect its new national president, a post currently held by Sonia Gandhi, in an election scheduled for October 17, 2022. Initially, the party had announced that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and MP Shashi Tharoor will be the two names in the contest. 

Now, the list has expanded with sources revealing to NDTV that Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Manish Tewari might also join the contest. It will be the first time in the last 20 years that no one from the Gandhi family will be in the mix for the post of congress president. 

Also read: Congress president polls: List of Congress presidents since Independence

However, there is no confirmation on the two leaders contesting for the Congress president post, and it has been cited only as a possibility. 

Apart from Tewari and Nath, sources have told NDTV that Mallikarjun Kharge and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah may also be in the mix. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra – the party’s clarion call for the 2024 elections, told PTI on Thursday, “Whoever becomes Congress president should remember he represents a set of ideas, a belief system, and a vision of India.”

“Congress president is not just an organisational post, it is an ideological post and a belief system,” he added. 

Also read: Congress presidential polls: 5 things you need to know

Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor represent two competing viewpoints within the Congress. While Gehlot is considered a member of the old guard, Tharoor was among the dissenting G-23 group who had written to president Sonia Gandhi demanding restructuring in the party.

Some of the new names that are being touted for the post, along with Tewari, are members of the G-23 group. 

Indicating a possibility to join Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot in the old-guard’s race for the post, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh has said that he might also contest.