After 24 years, Congress on Wednesday got a party chief outside the Nehru-Gandhi family. Veteran politician Mallikarjun Kharge, said to be a Gandhi family nominee, swept the party’s presidential polls paving the way for him to become the first non-Gandhi chief of the grand old party in over two decades.
Chairman of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) Madhusudan Mistry declared Kharge as the elected President of the party. “The total counted votes were 9,385, of which Kharge received 7,897 votes and Shashi Tharoor received 1,072 votes. 416 were invalid votes. As per Article 18 (D) of the Constitution of Indian National Congress, I hereby declare Mallikarjun Kharge as the elected President of Congress,” said Mistry.
More than 9,500 delegates cast their votes in the presidential election which took place at the culmination of the party’s organizational polls. The new president will take place of Sonia Gandhi who has been serving as interim president after Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the post following the party’s debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As per Congress sources, the elected president will take charge after Diwali in the presence of senior leaders in a programme at the Congress headquarters.
After the poll results, Kharge said that the party has presented an “example of strengthening the country’s democracy by conducting organisational elections” at a time when “democracy is in danger” in the country.
He said Congress has “continuously strengthened democracy” in the 75-year history of the country and protected the Constitution. “Now when democracy is in danger and Constitution is being attacked, and every institution is being broken, Congress has presented an example of strengthening the country’s democracy by conducting organisational elections at the national level,” he said.
“We all have to work like workers of the party, nobody is big or small in the party. We have to unitedly fight against the fascist forces that are attacking the democratic institutions under the garb of communalism,” Kharge said.
The Congress president-elect expressed his gratitude to outgoing party chief Sonia Gandhi and said that she made “personal sacrifices” for a number of years to serve the party. He also hailed her leadership stating that the Congress-led coalition came to power at the Centre twice while she was party chief.
Kharge’s opponent Tharoor conceded defeat and went to the New Delhi residence of the Congress President-elect to congratulate him on his victory. Tharoor said he believed “the revival of the party begins today”. “It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be President of the Congress and I wish Kharge ji all success in the task,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram tweeted.
Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday reached the residence of Mallikarjun Kharge and congratulated him on being elected as the new party president. They also met Kharge’s wife Radhabai Kharge on the occasion.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said that Kharge’s vast experience (which goes beyond 50 years in politics) will serve the party well. “Congratulations to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected as the President of @INCIndia. The Congress President represents a democratic vision of India. His vast experience and ideological commitment will serve the party well as he takes on this historic responsibility,” Gandhi tweeted.
Before the results were announced, party leader Rahul Gandhi during a press conference apparently jumped the gun and referred to Kharge as the party president.
“I can’t comment on Congress President’s role, that’s for Mr Kharge (party’s Presidential candidate) to comment on. The President will decide what my role is…and where I will be deployed ask Kharge ji, Sonia ji,” said the Congress MP in Kurnool.
