Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge emerged victorious in the presidential elections held on Monday, becoming the first non-Gandhi family leader to head the grand old party in 24 years. He will officially take over the position of Sonia Gandhi on October 26.
Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist who was widely perceived to be the ‘official’ candidate, defeated his rival Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a margin of over 6,000 votes. While the Karnataka leader secured 7,897 votes, Tharoor managed to get 1,072 out of the over 9,300 votes polled.
While congratulations poured in for Kharge on his new responsibility, the 80-yearold Dalit leader expressed his resolve to ‘fight against conspiracies to kill democracy’. In his first press conference after being elected the AICC chief, Kharge thanked interim chief Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving Congress president, highlighting the personal sacrifices she made for the party.
The election is significant for the Congress in the sense that the contest for the top post took place after a gap of two decades. The last election for the post of president was held in 2000, in which Sonia won with a thumping majority trouncing rival candidate Jitendra Prasada.
The elevation of Kharge, a Dalit leader from Karnataka, is expected to boost the party’s prospects in the Assembly elections next year as well as in the 2024 general elections. Although Kharge’s victory was a foregone conclusion, analysts say Tharoor bagging 12% of the votes polled was equally impressive. Tharoor, who had raised allegations of preferential treatment to Kharge by senior party leaders and an ‘uneven pitch’ during his campaigns, reiterated his claims even after the results were out.
In a letter to the party’s chief electoral officer Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s campaign team member Salman Soz said, “The facts are damning and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is devoid of credibility and integrity.”
The letter alleged the use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes and the presence of unofficial persons in polling booths. Talking to reporters later, Tharoor said he didn’t pitch himself as a candidate of dissent. “I was a candidate for change,” he said. On the lack of a level-playing field, he said “I continued to bat on an uneven pitch… There were bound to be glitches in the process.”
Rahul will be PM face: Gaurav GogoiAmid questions over the role of Rahul Gandhi in the party after Kharge became the Congress chief, senior party leader Gaurav Gogoi said Rahul will be the prime ministerial face of the party in the 2024 general elections. “It is evident that Rahul Gandhi is the PM face for 2024. There are many Congress workers who feel that Rahul is the best person to be PM,” he said
NEW DELHI: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge emerged victorious in the presidential elections held on Monday, becoming the first non-Gandhi family leader to head the grand old party in 24 years. He will officially take over the position of Sonia Gandhi on October 26.
Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist who was widely perceived to be the ‘official’ candidate, defeated his rival Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a margin of over 6,000 votes. While the Karnataka leader secured 7,897 votes, Tharoor managed to get 1,072 out of the over 9,300 votes polled.
While congratulations poured in for Kharge on his new responsibility, the 80-yearold Dalit leader expressed his resolve to ‘fight against conspiracies to kill democracy’. In his first press conference after being elected the AICC chief, Kharge thanked interim chief Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving Congress president, highlighting the personal sacrifices she made for the party.
The election is significant for the Congress in the sense that the contest for the top post took place after a gap of two decades. The last election for the post of president was held in 2000, in which Sonia won with a thumping majority trouncing rival candidate Jitendra Prasada.
The elevation of Kharge, a Dalit leader from Karnataka, is expected to boost the party’s prospects in the Assembly elections next year as well as in the 2024 general elections. Although Kharge’s victory was a foregone conclusion, analysts say Tharoor bagging 12% of the votes polled was equally impressive. Tharoor, who had raised allegations of preferential treatment to Kharge by senior party leaders and an ‘uneven pitch’ during his campaigns, reiterated his claims even after the results were out.
In a letter to the party’s chief electoral officer Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s campaign team member Salman Soz said, “The facts are damning and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is devoid of credibility and integrity.”
The letter alleged the use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes and the presence of unofficial persons in polling booths. Talking to reporters later, Tharoor said he didn’t pitch himself as a candidate of dissent. “I was a candidate for change,” he said. On the lack of a level-playing field, he said “I continued to bat on an uneven pitch… There were bound to be glitches in the process.”
Rahul will be PM face: Gaurav Gogoi
Amid questions over the role of Rahul Gandhi in the party after Kharge became the Congress chief, senior party leader Gaurav Gogoi said Rahul will be the prime ministerial face of the party in the 2024 general elections. “It is evident that Rahul Gandhi is the PM face for 2024. There are many Congress workers who feel that Rahul is the best person to be PM,” he said
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