The confirmation comes a day after Congress set the ball rolling for electing its next chief by issuing notification for the poll.
Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan and a prominent member of the Congress, announced his intention to contest for the position of party leader on Friday. Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that “no one from the Gandhi family should become the next leader,” Gehlot stated in a statement to reporters.
“I begged him repeatedly to grant everyone’s hope that he would take over as president of the Congress. He informed me that he had made the decision that no member of the Gandhi family should succeed him as leader,” reporters heard from Mr. Gehlot.
“I know they want me to be chief and I respect their aspirations,” Rahul ji said to him, “but I have determined, for a reason, that a non-Gandhi should be Congress president,” he said.