Congress leader Digvijay Singh, on Friday, said that he will not enter the Congress presidential race, thus clearing the air.

The senior politician announced his decision to not run for president of the Congress during a press conference in Jabalpur but said that he would accept any instructions given to him by the party’s higher-ups.

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After Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced his candidature on Friday, there is a significant build-up to the Congress president election.  Rahul Gandhi has stated categorically that “no member of the Gandhi family” will take over as the party’s next leader, according to Gehlot.

This development, a cabinet reshuffle can also be expected in Rajasthan and Sachin Pilot can be promoted as Ashok Gehlot would have to resign from the CM post as Rahul Gandhi made it explicit on Thursday that there will be, “one person, one post.”

Rahul Gandhi described the INC’s president post as an “ideological post” and said the post, “represents a set of ideas and belief system and vision of India.”

With Digvijay Singh out of the race, Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor are now the front-runners for the position, pushing the congress leaders to opposing ends of the spectrum.

Shashi Tharoor was criticised by Congress leader Gourav Vallabh on Thursday for considering running for president. Vallabh claimed that Tharoor’s sole significant contribution to the party was a letter he wrote to Sonia Gandhi while she was in the hospital.

Speaking on Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor as potential candidates for the position of party president, Gaurav Vallabh stated that there is no comparison between the two and that his decision is straightforward and obvious in the event that Rahul Gandhi decides not to run for the position.

Vallabh, in a series of tweets, tweeted, “Like crores of workers, my first wish is that Rahul Gandhi ji should provide his leadership to the Congress and the country. But if Rahul Gandhi ji remains firm on his decision of not taking up the Congress chief post and one has to choose between the two names that are appearing in public discussion, then there is no comparison between the two.”

In another tweet, he said, “On one hand, there is Ashok Gehlot who has the experience of being a Union minister, three times chief minister, five times MP, five times MLA, and who has defeated PM Modi- Amit Shah in a direct contest and who has had 45 years of spotless political life.”

In the continuing thread he added, “On the other hand there is Shashi Tharoor sahib who has only one major contribution to the party in the last 8 years — sent letters to Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji when she was hospitalized, this act caused pain to crores of party workers like me. The choice is very simple and clear.”

Notably, G 23 leaders, including Tharoor, wrote to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 requesting significant party reforms.

Shashi Tharoor met Sonia Gandhi on September 19 at her home in the capital, when he indicated his desire to run for office in order to “make internal democracy” within the party stronger. Gandhi acknowledged the Thiruvananthapuram MP by saying that anyone can run for office. On Wednesday, Tharoor also held a meeting with the party’s Madhusudan Mistry, the head of the Central Election Authority.

On September 24 and through September 30, candidates may submit their nominations for the position of party leader. Election day is set for October 17, and voting results will be tallied on October 19.