Digvijaya Singh out of Cong prez poll race

In a major twist to the last-minute race for the Congress presidential poll, Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh opted out of the race and said he will back Mallikarjun Kharge in the election.

Friday is the last day for filing the nomination paper for the much-awaited election.

With Digvijaya Singh opting out, Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge are the two major contestants for the election.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot withdrew from the race on Thursday in the aftermath of the Rajasthan rebellion that his loyalist MLAs stirred in a bid to retain him as the chief minister even if he goes to contest the party election.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Friday said he will be a proposer for Mallikarjun Kharge.

On the other hand, Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi said he will be filing his nomination for the election today.