Shashi Tharoor likely to fight Congress president polls

New Delhi: The G-23 is preparing itself to take the official faction in the Congress head-on by forcing a contest for the party president's post despite odds against them, as it wants to bring the crisis the party is facing to the fore for a wider discussion.

Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor is the preferred choice of the now-diminished group, which wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 seeking a roadmap for organisational revamp, to take on the official candidate.

Sources said the dissidents were aware that the odds were stacked against them with the official candidate all set to win but they wanted to initiate a debate on the problems faced by the party and possible solutions to it.

If Tharoor is not willing to contest, sources said, the mantle may fall on another Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari.

The dissidents are also willing to stick their neck out even if Rahul, who has not given his nod for reclaiming the top post he resigned after the Lok Sabha elections, contests.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leader of the G-23, quitting the party and several others leaving the group has diminished its standing, but the group of dissidents believe that they should continue their fight from within.

The Congress on Sunday announced the schedule for the party president election, with the polling on October 17. With Sonia learned to have urged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to assume leadership despite his reluctance, the official faction would like to have its candidate elected unopposed.

However, the leadership is aware that they may have to face a contest. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal has said that the organisational polls will be "open and fair" and anybody can contest for the post of president.

G-23 leaders are of the view that if the president's election is uncontested, the issues they raised would not be amplified and it would be detrimental to the interests of the party.