Ashok Gehlot says won't fight Congress presidential election after Rajasthan fiasco

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was one of the possible candidates for the Congress presidential election, said he will not contest after a political drama erupted in his home state.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday broke his silence on his decision for the Congress presidential election and said he will not be contesting. This comes after he met with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi following the political crisis in Rajasthan.

I met Rahul Gandhi in Kochi & requested him to fight in the polls (for Congress President). When he didn't accept, I said I'll contest but now with that incident (#RajasthanPoliticalCrisis), I've decided not to contest the elections: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/2VnqTcQUAu

He said he decided not to contest the elections after the political crisis erupted in Rajasthan. Following his exit, the top runners for the party's top post are Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh.

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Gehlot had arrived in Delhi to meet Sonia Gandhi after a political drama erupted in Rajasthan on Sunday night with 82 MLAs sending in their resignation to the assembly Speaker, CP Joshi. The MLAs opposed the selection of Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister if Gehlot wins the Congress presidential post.

This led to a standoff between the Congress leadership and Gehlot loyalists, with party high command seeking a report from its party observers, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken.