Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday withdrew from the Congress presidential election after meeting Sonia Gandhi, in a clear indication that the unseemly political spectacle in Rajasthan had caused deep anguish within the party.

Gehlot’s withdrawal has set the stage for a direct contest between Digvijaya Singh and Shashi Tharoor if any other candidate doesn’t enter the fray on Friday, the last day of filing nominations. Both Digvijaya and Tharoor will file their nominations on Friday.

The twists and turns have created such confusion that party insiders are expecting more drama on the last day. Many leaders talked of the possibility of a “surprise” on Friday because both Digvijaya and Tharoor are not being viewed as the “official” candidate. Some even wondered whether Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had indeed cut themselves off and allowed fair electoral dynamics to throw up a winner who could lead the party.

Gehlot, who was the clear frontrunner and the obvious choice of entrenched forces within the high command structure, paid the price for the act of defiance in Jaipur by MLAs loyal to him who not only refused to meet central observers but rejected their perceived choice of Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister.

While this defiance was analysed in some circles as a bold manifestation of democratic spirit, others felt Gehlot had undermined the high command’s authority.

That Sonia herself was upset with the turn of events was confirmed by Gehlot’s explanation of the avoidable episode as he said after meeting the Congress president: “This incident created an impression that I am desperate to continue as chief minister. The media created this impression. My resignation is always with Sonia Gandhi. I requested Rahul Gandhi to become the president. But when he refused, I said I would contest. But under these circumstances, when that incident happened in Jaipur, I will not contest.”

Explaining the developments in Jaipur, he said: “It was my responsibility as chief minister to get that one-line resolution passed (authorising the party chief to elect the Congress Legislature Party leader, who would be the next chief minister). This has been the tradition of the Congress, a resolution is always passed by the Congress Legislature Party. Discipline is important in the party. I take moral responsibility for what happened.”

The defiant MLAs had, however, said Gehlot was not part of the plan.

Gehlot himself linking the defiant act of the MLAs to his exit from the presidential race, and categorically accepting that he had said “sorry” to Sonia, indicated the deep disquiet in the party.

Digvijaya said publicly: “We all had accepted him as the candidate. He is a true Gandhian and a loyal soldier of the party. But that episode, which was avoidable, changed the situation.”

What is worse, general secretary in-charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal, who also met Sonia on Friday, said: “The decision about who will be the chief minister of Rajasthan will be taken in a day or two.” This raised a question mark on Gehlot’s continuance in the post.

But some leaders felt the central observers would be sent to Rajasthan again to collect the one-line resolution only to re-establish the sanctity of the process, and ultimately Gehlot might not be disturbed.

While Gehlot’s antipathy towards Pilot cost him the party president’s job, the high command also knows any drastic action against the chief minister in anger could prove counter-productive.

Digvijaya is now the front-runner as Tharoor cannot match his clout within the Congress organisation. But such a point of view has evoked fierce rebuttal from admirers of Tharoor.

Congress leader from Kashmir Salman Soz contested a similar observation by tweeting: “No. All that it means is that we have two confirmed candidates for Congress president. If no one else files, our party delegates will choose between two eminently qualified candidates. Both belong to Congress and there will be a free and fair election.”

Digvijaya dropped in to wish Tharoor, who tweeted a photograph with the message: “Received a visit from Digvijaya Singh this afternoon. I welcome his candidacy for the Presidency of our party. We both agreed that ours is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest among colleagues. All we both want is that whoever prevails, Congress will win.”

Digvijaya responded, saying: “I agree, we are fighting the communal forces in India. Both believe in the Gandhian Nehruvian ideology and shall fight them relentlessly come what may. Best wishes.”