Rahul Gandhi on Monday filed his nomination for the election to the post of Congress president amidst a grand show of support for his candidature by senior leaders from across the country.
Rahul is all set to be declared Congress President without a contest, as, according to sources, his was the only candidature to be proposed on Monday, the last day for filing of nomination.
As many as 89 sets of nomination were filed on his behalf. Five sets of nominations were filed by senior leaders, which included CWC members, AICC general secretaries, members of parliament, chief ministers, ex-chief ministers, PCC chiefs and CLP leaders.
The first set of nomination bore the signature of Congress president Sonia Gandhi among other leaders proposing Rahul's candidature. Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, Motilal Vora, Mohsina Kidwai, Ahmed Patel, Sheila Dikshit, V. Narayanasamy and Mukul Wasnik were among the other signatories.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh filed the second nomination, which was seconded by leaders including Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Anand Sharma, Jaipal Reddy, Siddaramaiah and Oscar Fernandes. Rahul accompanied Manmohan as he submitted the nomination to the party's central election authority.
Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad filed the third nomination along with C.P. Joshi, Ambika Soni, Mallikarjun Kharge, Salman Khurshid, Capt Amarinder Singh, K.C. Venugopal and Kumari Selja.
Senior leaders Meira Kumar, Karan Singh, Janardan Dwivedi, B.K. Hariprasad and Harish Rawat were among the leaders who filed the fourth set of nomination. Mohan Prakash, Asha Kumari, Amarinder Raja, P.L. Punia, Rajeev Shukla, R.P.N Singh, Girija Vyas, P.C. Chacko and R.C. Khuntia also filed a nomination on behalf of Rahul.
The remaining 84 sets of nominations were filed by the state units of the party. All the nomination papers were signed by Rahul, conveying his consent to be a candidate in the elections.
“As many as 89 nominations were filed, each supported by ten delegates. So, in all, 890 delegates signed on the nomination papers, proposing the name of Rahul Gandhi,” said Mullapally Ramachandran, head of the Congress' Central Election Authority.
He said that in the event of a no contest, the Congress will declare Rahul as president of the party on December 11.
Rahul arrived at the Congress office, sporting a red tika on his forehead, evoking immense curiosity in the backdrop of the debate over his visits to temples in election-going Gujarat. It turned out that he had paid a visit to former President Pranab Mukherjee in the morning to seek his blessings, and Mukherjee applied the tika on his forehead to bless him.
The Congress vice president had also called on Manmohan before arriving at the Congress headquarters for the nomination. He met Sonia, too, before coming to the party office. The 47-year-old Rahul would be taking over the reins from Sonia, who has been Congress president for almost 20 years.
The AICC headquarters was abuzz with activity as senior leaders from all over the country descended to express support for Rahul's candidature. Also, with Rahul's nomination coming in the midst of electioneering in Gujarat and the BJP's criticism of dynastic politics in the Congress, leader after leader was at pains to emphasise that the election process was completely democratic.
“By what process has Amit Shah been elected as president of the BJP? There is overwhelming consensus and unanimity for Rahul as president of the Congress. We are following the procedures laid down by the constitution of the Congress,” said senior leader Anand Sharma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in election-going Gujarat endorsed the doubts raised by Shahzad Poonawalla, who has worked in the Congress' media department, and who has questioned the process for election of Congress president, saying it is rigged and delegates fixed to ensure Rahul's elevation.
