Though the party has got three candidates in the race, it is not the final list as the latter would be announced only after the deadline of withdrawing the nominations, which is on October 8.

The big mystery will be solved in the evening hours of Saturday - September 30 when the process of filing the nomination ends. 

As Ashok Gehlot is out of the contest, the race is now between Shashi Tharoor and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh.

Submitting nominations for the election will take place from September 24 to September 30. On October 1, nomination papers would be scrutinized and October 8 will be the last day to withdraw the nominations.

As both politically-experienced minds are going to clash for the apex job, the party is all set for a tight contest to replace Sonia Gandhi. 

While the Gandhis tend to step aside from enjoying a direct command, the party is witnessing a wave of pressure from across the nation urging Rahul Gandhi to take the baton.

The party announced her demise on Wednesday and several leaders including President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi have paid condolences to Sonia Gandhi. 

After quitting Congress, Azad announced that he is going to float a new political party and that his new political journey will begin from his home turf of Jammu and Kashmir.

While Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has been touted to be the frontrunner for the top post, the latest entrant to the race is Congress MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor.

The latest schedule for the election of the president was unanimously approved at the virtual meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that was held on Sunday.