Ready to take over as Congress president : Former Union Minister to Rahul Gandhi

Former Union minister Aslam Sher Khan, also a hockey olympian, said he was prepared to take over as the Congress chief on a provisional basis.

Notably, Khan is the first leader to stake claim to the post after Gandhi offered his resignation at the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi on May 25 following the debacle in Lok Sabha elections. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) had unanimously rejected the offer and passed a new resolution which authorised Gandhi to revamp the organisation.

“I wrote a letter when Rahul Gandhi offered to leave the post of Congress President and asked someone from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to take over his role. In the letter, I mentioned that if Rahul wanted to continue at the post he very well could, but if not, then I would like to assume the responsibility for two years,” he told ANI.

Khan, a two-term Lok Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, further added that his intent behind writing the letter was to ensure a makeover of the party and there were no hopes for any personal gains. “The letter was not written for personal gains. It is because I believe Congress needs a makeover and it needs to be realigned with the nationalist identity. It is because of these reasons that I became ready to assume the responsibilities when the party is going through tough times,” he said.