Will Shashi Tharoor withdraw his nomination?

New Delhi: The election grounds for the post of Congress President have been decorated. Mallikarjun Kharge has filed his nomination papers with the undeclared support of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, while Shashi Tharoor has filed his nomination appealing for change. There was also a third candidate, Jharkhand’s KN Tripathi, who had filed his nomination claiming that he is the son of a farmer and son of Soniaji. All three filed their papers on the last day of filing nominations i.e. 30 September. But Tripathi’s nomination was rejected later. The nominations can now be withdrawn by October 8. If more than one candidate remains in the fray even after October 8, then voting will be held on October 17 and about nine thousand delegates of Congress will vote for the post of President. Now the question is whether the matter of Congress President will go till October 17 or will it be settled before October 8? That is, will there be an election or will Tharoor withdraw, after which Mallikarjun Kharge will be declared elected unanimously? This question has come up because there is a large group of party leaders who are unanimously supporting the election of the Congress President. The leaders of the G23 group, who have demanded a change, are also wishing that elections should not come with a senior leader like Kharge contesting. Although he is sure to win by a huge margin, yet the leaders want that it would be more honorable that he wins the election unopposed.