Rahul holds hectic parleys with top Cong leaders to select next Chhattisgarh CM

New Delhi: After selecting chief ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi held hectic parleys with top party leaders Saturday to decide on the top post for Chhattisgarh.

Sources said Gandhi met Chhattisgarh's four potential chief minister candidates -- T S Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Bhupesh Baghel and Charan Das Mahant -- at his Tughlaq Lane residence and held discussions with them. This is the third round of discussion that the Congress chief is holding before selecting the chief minister for Chhattisgarh, where the party romped home to power after 15 years with two-third majority. 

Congress' central observer Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC in-charge for party affairs in Chhattisgarh P L Punia were also present at the meeting. The sources said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the Congress chief's residence. They said that a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is slated to be held at 4.00 pm in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 

However, it was not clear whether the announcement would be made in the national capital or in Raipur. The Congress Friday named Ashok Gehlot Rajasthan's next chief minister after several rounds of discussions lasting more than two days. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Kamal Nath was made chief minister-designate on December 13.