Two-horse race, or a one-trick pony?

Shashi Tharoor or Ashok Gehlot? The nation vaguely wants to know. Not whose grasp of English is better. Not which one would come out victorious in Big Boy (read: Lok Sabha or assembly) elections. But whether the Malayali MP or the Rajasthani CM will become Congress president. Will there be a dark horse as a third candidate? That information remains unknown at this stage as well as unimportant, if past performance of a particular dark horse is something to go by. Because as far as two-horse races go, Shashi vs Ashok has some punters somewhat interested in a field usually reserved for said dark horse. However, with Congress units in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, and Tharoor and Gehlot's home states of Kerala and Rajasthan openly backing the aforementioned dark horse, it remains to be seen whether this will be an Ascot or Kentucky derby, or a backyard race conducted for the sake of a packhorse to be a racehorse one more time.

The Congress itself is a microcosm of a larger firmament V with one vital difference: it is, for the near future, restricted to this microcosm. This makes a contest between Tharoor and Gehlot minus any dark horse worth its while. And, if by chance - well, actually, by design - a third candidate does become Congress president on October 19, no worries - thankfully, there's a political world outside this circuit.