Congress says decision on Rajasthan CM in a day or two
New Delhi, Sep 29: Congress president Sonia Gandhi will decide on the Rajasthan chief minister's post within a day or two, party general secretary KC Venugopal said on Thursday.
Venugopal made the statement outside Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence here after a series of meetings to resolve the Rajasthan crisis.
He also said it will be clear by tomorrow, the last day of filing nominations for the top post, who all will contest.
The comments came soon after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced that he will not contest the Congress presidential polls as he took moral responsibility for the political crisis in his state, and said the decision on whether he would remain CM would be taken by the party chief.
After meeting the party president, Gehlot told reporters that he apologised to Gandhi for the developments on Sunday when MLAs supporting him defied the central observers and thwarted the move to hold a meeting of party legislators.
Instead, they held a parallel meeting to pitch for Gehlot's continuation or the guarantee that his bete noire Sachin Pilot will not replace him.
Gehlot, a three-time state chief minister, described himself as a disciplined soldier of the party and expressed his sadness over the turn of events in the state.
Asked if he will continue as chief minister, Gehlot said Gandhi will decide on the issue.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is likely to file his nomination for the Congress president's post on Friday, met Shashi Tharoor, who said they agreed that theirs is "not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest" among colleagues.
Singh met the party MP from Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday after collecting nomination papers for the polls.
"Received a visit from Digvijaya Singh this afternoon. I welcome his candidacy for the Presidency of our Party," Tharoor said in a tweet.
"We both agreed that ours is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest among colleagues. All we both want is that whoever prevails, @incIndia will win!" he said.
Tharoor has already declared that he will file his nomination for the post of Congress president on Friday, the last day of the nomination process.
Polling for the post will take place on October 17 while the result will be announced on October 19.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
