Digvijaya Singh meets Kharge, Venugopal ahead of filing nomination for poll

Ahead of filing his nomination for the Congress presidential poll, party leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday met his colleagues Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal.

The details of the meetings were not known immediately.

Singh collected nomination papers for the party president election on Thursday, even as Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race.

Kharge is also likely to enter the contest with the blessing of the Gandhi family.

There is speculation that Singh may replace Kharge as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha if the latter becomes the party chief.

The 'one man, one post' formula will apply to Kharge, as in the case of Gehlot, who was asked to quit as chief minister if he contested for the top party post.

Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor will also file his nomination papers on Friday.

A tent has been set up in the lawns of the AICC headquarters here and party leaders can file their nomination papers between 11 am and 3 pm.

Polling will take place on October 17 and the result will be announced on October 19.