The Congress has issued seven strict guidelines for the party’s presidential polls. The most important guideline is in Clause 3 where it clearly says “AICC general secretaries, CLP leaders shall not campaign for or against any contesting candidate. But if they wish to do so, they must first resign from their organisational posts.”

The first violation came from Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who, in a video released on Wednesday, strongly advocated Mallikarjun Kharge, asking all voting delegates “to support Kharge and ensure he wins with a huge margin”.

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This, for some, may be seen as an attempt to influence the delegates, especially from the state of Rajasthan. However, the election committee of the Congress says since Gehlot has been a proposer for Kharge, He can campaign for the veteran leader.

The delegates and their ‘impartiality’ remain a grey area. There are 9,000 delegates in total who will cast their votes from across the country and the strength of delegates is according to the size of state.

Though the party says no one has been told how they are to vote and it’s a secret ballot, the fact is that the delegates are in touch with top leaders. “They will vote in the direction the wind is blowing,” a source said.

The list of proposers is a straight giveaway as to how the dice are loaded in favour of Kharge. For example, nine CWC members, seven former cabinet ministers, five G-23 members, three former chief ministers, and one sitting chief minister are proposers for Kharge. It’s clear that these influential proposers will carry clout in their respective states. And even though on paper the delegates have the freedom to vote for who they want, it’s evident that they may be influenced.

The voting or choice of delegates may also not be above doubt. For example, the booth-level workers vote for the delegates. But powerful state leaders may have a strong grip on deciding who the booth-level worker is who will vote for the delegate.

“For instance, Pramod Tiwari is a powerful leader in UP and possibly one of the few Congress leaders who know booth workers by name. So, it’s quite possible that he can influence the booth workers and choice of delegates,” the source said.

For the Congress, this election, in many ways, is an opportunity to prove that, unlike others, the top post is chosen through a contest. But as Shashi Tharoor and his supporters become vocal about the preferential treatment, clearly all is not well. These polls and the canvassing clearly give the impression that Kharge is the chosen one.