New Delhi: In a fresh development, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh has withdrawn from the Congress President Election and has announced support for fellow veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge.



  • "Kharge Ji is my senior. I went to his residence yesterday and told him that I won't file my nomination if he's filing (nomination). He said that he won't be filing. Afterwards, I got to know via press that he is a candidate," Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said, as quoted by ANI. "I told him that I stand by him and can't even think of contesting against him; I will be his proposer," he added.






Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge will join the contest for Congress president election and will file his nomination for the party's top post today, news agency ANI reported.


With this, the contest for the post appears to be between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor. Nominations for the post of Congress president close at 3 pm today and results will be declared on October 19.



  • No leader from Congress's G-23 will file a nomination for the post of Congress President, ANI reported sources as saying.


  • "I am going to be the proposer for Mallikarjun Kharge for Congress president elections," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said.


  •  Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi announced his candidature: "I'll file my nomination at 1 pm today (for Congress President post). Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi have said that they're neither requesting anyone to contest nor declining anyone it... we want to see what the rank & file of the party wants", ANI reported.


  • Earlier in the day, Digvijaya Singh met his colleagues Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal before announcing his withdrawal from the poll.


  • On Kharge's candidature, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said: "I only see speculation (of LoP Mallikarjun Kharge contesting for post of Congress President). He's also a very respected colleague, we worked together in Lok Sabha. It'll be a good thing to have more people in the frame. The more candidates, the better: 




Notably, Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress veteran Ashok Gehlot on Thursday announced that he will not be contesting for the post of party president. Referring to the party's political crisis in Rajasthan, Gehlot decided to cancel his bid for the contest - where he was earlier being viewed as a frontrunner. 


Earlier it was reported that Kharge was not averse to running for AICC president polls if party chief Sonia Gandhi asks him to contest. "Kharge has told Sonia Gandhi that whatever the party decides, he will adhere to it," a close associate of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said as reported by PTI, adding: "Ultimately, he will do what the party (Sonia Gandhi) suggests him to do".


With the Gandhis not running for the top post this time around, the grand old party is all set to get a non-Gandhi president after over 25 years.


Congress Party's President Election


According to a notification issued by the Congress party, the process for filing nominations for the election ends today.


The date for scrutiny of nomination papers is October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8.


The final list of candidates will be published at 5 pm on October 8.


The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.


More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee delegates will vote in the poll.


The Congress last saw a contest for the party president's post in November 2000. Jitendra Prasada had lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2000 and prior to that, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997.