Shashi Tharoor, the leader of the Congress, asserted on Monday that he had the backing of party members from all over the nation for his campaign to contest in the upcoming AICC president election, news agency PTI reported.
On the fringes of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Pattambi in this north Kerala region, Tharoor also visited Rahul Gandhi amid ambiguity surrounding Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's candidacy for the top party job. Gandhi was in Tharoor's district, therefore it was a courtesy call, according to Tharoor.
Speaking with reporters, Tharoor stated: "You will see the support I enjoy when I submit my nomination paper. I will be in the fray if I get support from party workers from the majority of the states. So many people from different parts of the country have requested me to be in the fray."
According to Tharoor, he is interested in contesting the election, but the situation won't become clearer until until September 30, which is the deadline for submitting candidacy papers.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP advised candidates to approach the election with confidence after collecting the nomination form from the Congress headquarters last Saturday.
"I have got the form. I am meeting people and talking to them", he was quoted by PTI in its report.
The Congressman said that he has spoken with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka about the topic and that "all three have personally assured me that they don't have any issues" when asked if the Nehru-Gandhi family will help him in his election campaign. Additionally, he stated that party members in Kerala had backed him in his campaign against the vote.
Last Monday, Tharoor met with Sonia Gandhi and announced his desire to run for office.
According to reports, the president of the Congress said she would remain "neutral" throughout the elections.
Sonia Gandhi had dismissed the concept that there would be a "official candidate" and supported the idea that more individuals might run in the election.
The period from September 24 to September 30 will be used for the election nomination process, the party said on Thursday.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations is October 8, while October 1 is the date for a review of the nomination papers.
On October 8, at 5:00 p.m., the final list of candidates will be made public.
If necessary, the election will be place on October 17.
On October 19, the vote-counting process will begin, and the results will be announced that same day.
The poll will be attended by around 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) representatives.
The most recent election for party president of the Congress took place in November 2000.
Prior to Sitaram Kesri's victory over Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997, Jitendra Prasada had fallen short to Sonia Gandhi in 2000.
(With Inputs From PTI)