Highlights
- The voting to elect a new Congress party chief began at 10 am on Monday
- The final results will be announced on October 19
- Senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor and in the fray
Ashok Gehlot on Monday said his relations are beyond any contention or logic. The Rajasthan chief minister's statement came while the voting to elect new Congress president was underway across parts of the country.
Gehlot, who arrived at the state Congress headquarters to vote in the president's election, said, "My Gandhi family relations are beyond any contention/logic and will remain so even after October 19."
Asked to comment on discussions doing the rounds on the "Udaipur Declaration" time and again and Rajasthan's politics which came into jeopardy recently, Gehlot said, "The answer to this will be given by Khargeji only after winning the election."
The voting to elect a new Congress party chief began at 10 am on Monday and the final results will be announced on October 19.
Senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor and in the fray.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Congress State President Govind Singh Dotasra and MLA Divya Maderna, have been among the prominent voters for the exercise.
Elections free, fair, transparent: Madhusudan Mistry
Meanwhile, Congress' central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Monday said he is satisfied with the party's presidential polls process and asserted that the elections are "free, fair and transparent".
Asked about the polling going on at the 68 booths the party has set up for the polls, Mistry said, "It is going quite smoothly everywhere, we don't have any kind of adverse information from anywhere. Even old delegates are standing in queue to cast their vote, there is a lot of enthusiasm in delegates to cast their vote."
Mistry said he hopes for a good turnout in the polling as the party's poll body has appealed to the electors to vote.
"Whoever they may choose, but they should vote," he added.
Asked if he was satisfied with the polls process, Mistry answered in the affirmative and said, "It is free, fair and transparent, and everything is open for media".
He said he has received no complaints during the polling process.
"The ballot boxes will arrive by Tuesday evening.. whenever the counting is over on October 19, we will declare the result," he said.
Asked about the importance of polls, Mistry said elections used to take in every five years but the last few ones were unanimous so naturally, there was no need to hold polls.
"But now since there are two candidates, we have to hold an election," he said, adding that it is not a new thing in Congress.
(With inputs from agencies)
