What's Gehlot's next move now ahead of Congress election? Meet Sonia Gandhi; persuade Rahul | 10 points

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's late-night meeting with the party MLAs set the stage for the upcoming Congress presidential election in October as he is widely expected to file his nomination papers. Before leaving for Delhi on Wednesday, Gehlot met his MLAs in Jaipur and told them that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination.

Here are the top 10 updates

1. Gehlot at the late-night meeting said he will first go to Kerala and urge Rahul Gandhi to contest for the party president post. Before going to Kochi, he will meet Sonia Gandhi in Delhi.

2. Gehlot said if he files a nomination for the election, then all MLAs will get a message to reach New Delhi.

3. Rajasthan food and civil supplies minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, after the meeting, said there is no anti-incumbency in the state and the chief minister was not away from the people.

4. As Gehlot begins his trip today, he is scheduled to visit Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra.

5. In Delhi, Gehlot is scheduled to meet senior party leaders between September 25 and 28, which coincides with the nomination submission period.

6. Rajasthan Congress was one of the frontrunners in passing a resolution in favour of making Rahul Gandhi the party president. Haryana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Maharashtra, J&K units have passed similar resolutions.

7. The party has clarified that anyone can contest in the election, be it Shashi Tharoor or Ashok Gehlot or anyone else and no permission from interim president Sonia Gandhi is required. Tharoor had met Sonia Gandhi on Monday and conveyed that he wants to contest the election.

8. According to reports, Sonia Gandhi told Shashi Tharoor that she would maintain a neutral stance.

9. Shashi Tharoor is facing resistance from the Kerala Congress unit over his alleged move. MO K Muraleedharan said the state party would vote only for those who recognise the prominence of the Nehru family.

10. Some sources claim Gehlot is favoured by the party's top leadership

The process of filing nominations for the election begins on September 24 and will end on September 30. The party last saw a contest for the post in November 2000 in which Jitendra Prasada lost to Sonia Gandhi.

(With agency inputs)