Congress issues notification for its president poll

The election will take place on October 17 and the results will be announced two days later

New Delhi:  The Congress on Thursday set the ball rolling for electing its chief by issuing a notification and a contest for the top party post appeared imminent after a gap of over two decades with senior leaders Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor looking set for an electoral face-off.

In comments seen as yet another indication that he may not contest, Rahul Gandhi told those willing to run for the party presidency that the post was not just organisational but also “ideological” and that the person occupying it must remember that it represents a belief system.

Gandhi also batted for the “one-man, one-post” concept in line with the Chintan Shivir reforms earlier this year. His assertion came a day after Gehlot hinted that he would like to continue as the chief minister even while assuming the post of party president.