News Analysis India

Tag: Congress president

  • No one is big or small, all have to work together as karyakartas to strengthen Congress: Kharge

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said no one in the party is big or small and he will work as a true Congress soldier to strengthen the organisation.

    He will formally take over as the Congress president on October 26 from Sonia Gandhi who has been at the helm since Rahul Gandhi resigned after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    Addressing a press conference after he was declared elected as the party’s president, Kharge said for him every Congress worker is equal and all have to work together to fight the fascist forces threatening democracy and the Constitution.

    Kharge defeated Shashi Tharoor in the electoral contest by polling 7,897 of 9,385 votes.

    Tharoor got 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid.

    He said by holding organisational elections, the Congress has shown the country how internal democracy is strong in the organisation.

    “No one is small or big and we have to all work like karyakartas (workers) to strengthen the organisation,” Kharge said.

    “We have to together fight the threat to democracy and the Constitution. We have to fight the fascist forces who are attacking democracy and the people of the country,” Kharge said, assailing the forces “wearing the garb of communalism”.

    All Congress workers feel that the country cannot be sacrificed for a “tanashah” and “we have to together fight “these ‘vinaashkari’ (destructive) forces”, he said.

    Kharge said that former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had called him an hour ago and congratulated him and said that together “we all have to work towards strengthening the Congress organisation”.

    The 80-year-old Dalit leader from Karnataka also appealed to all Congress workers and people of the country to join Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra which is a ‘jan andolan’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir against price rise, unemployment and against those who are creating hatred and division in society.

    Kharge also lauded Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, saying “her tenure will be remembered for a long time”.

    “I thank Sonia Gandhi ji who made personal sacrifice as she steered the party for 23 years,” he said.

    Sonia Gandhi along with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Kharge’s residence and congratulated him.

    He also thanked all those who participated in the organisational elections and made it happen, and also he gave best wishes to Tharoor.

    Tharoor had earlier met Kharge at his residence and congratulated him on his victory.

    NEW DELHI: Congress president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said no one in the party is big or small and he will work as a true Congress soldier to strengthen the organisation.

    He will formally take over as the Congress president on October 26 from Sonia Gandhi who has been at the helm since Rahul Gandhi resigned after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    Addressing a press conference after he was declared elected as the party’s president, Kharge said for him every Congress worker is equal and all have to work together to fight the fascist forces threatening democracy and the Constitution.

    Kharge defeated Shashi Tharoor in the electoral contest by polling 7,897 of 9,385 votes.

    Tharoor got 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid.

    He said by holding organisational elections, the Congress has shown the country how internal democracy is strong in the organisation.

    “No one is small or big and we have to all work like karyakartas (workers) to strengthen the organisation,” Kharge said.

    “We have to together fight the threat to democracy and the Constitution. We have to fight the fascist forces who are attacking democracy and the people of the country,” Kharge said, assailing the forces “wearing the garb of communalism”.

    All Congress workers feel that the country cannot be sacrificed for a “tanashah” and “we have to together fight “these ‘vinaashkari’ (destructive) forces”, he said.

    Kharge said that former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had called him an hour ago and congratulated him and said that together “we all have to work towards strengthening the Congress organisation”.

    The 80-year-old Dalit leader from Karnataka also appealed to all Congress workers and people of the country to join Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra which is a ‘jan andolan’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir against price rise, unemployment and against those who are creating hatred and division in society.

    Kharge also lauded Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, saying “her tenure will be remembered for a long time”.

    “I thank Sonia Gandhi ji who made personal sacrifice as she steered the party for 23 years,” he said.

    Sonia Gandhi along with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Kharge’s residence and congratulated him.

    He also thanked all those who participated in the organisational elections and made it happen, and also he gave best wishes to Tharoor.

    Tharoor had earlier met Kharge at his residence and congratulated him on his victory.

  • Mallikarjun Kharge elected as Congress’ first non-Gandhi president in over two decades

    By Online Desk

    The Congress party elected veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years on Wednesday. Kharge secured 7897 votes while his co-contender Shashi Tharoor got about 1000 votes. 416 votes were rejected out of the 9, 500 votes counted.

    Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi had taken over.

    Congress central election authority chairman Mistry on Monday expressed satisfaction with the party’s presidential polls process, saying it was “free, fair and transparent”.

    He has also said it was a secret ballot and no one would get to know who voted for whom.

    Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters, Mistry had said at a press conference after the polling ended on Monday.

    Electors in the Congress presidential polls had been asked to put a tick mark against their candidate in the ballot paper after Tharoor’s team took up with the party’s top poll body the issue of its earlier directive that voters write “1” to reflect their preference. This, the team said, might lead to confusion.

    Ahead of the polling, Kharge had said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, if he becomes its president.

    Tharoor, on his part, took a veiled dig at some senior leaders supporting Kharge, saying that some colleagues were “indulging in ‘netagiri’ and telling party workers that they know who Sonia Gandhi wants elected”.

    The Congress party elected veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years on Wednesday. Kharge secured 7897 votes while his co-contender Shashi Tharoor got about 1000 votes. 416 votes were rejected out of the 9, 500 votes counted.

    Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi had taken over.

    Congress central election authority chairman Mistry on Monday expressed satisfaction with the party’s presidential polls process, saying it was “free, fair and transparent”.

    He has also said it was a secret ballot and no one would get to know who voted for whom.

    Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters, Mistry had said at a press conference after the polling ended on Monday.

    Electors in the Congress presidential polls had been asked to put a tick mark against their candidate in the ballot paper after Tharoor’s team took up with the party’s top poll body the issue of its earlier directive that voters write “1” to reflect their preference. This, the team said, might lead to confusion.

    Ahead of the polling, Kharge had said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, if he becomes its president.

    Tharoor, on his part, took a veiled dig at some senior leaders supporting Kharge, saying that some colleagues were “indulging in ‘netagiri’ and telling party workers that they know who Sonia Gandhi wants elected”.

  • ‘Loyalist’ Kharge? ‘Change seeker’ Tharoor? Congress polls underway to choose non-Gandhi president

    By Express News Service

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The voting for the Congress presidential election has started at the State party headquarters at Indira Bhavan. State Congress working president Kodikunnil Suresh opined that Shashi Tharoor MP should have withdrawn from the presidential poll.

    Indira Bhavan which is the cynosure of all eyes saw a large posse of KPCC office bearers and also those who don’t have voting rights converge at the party headquarters much before the start of the election. The voting began at 9 am. A large queue was formed in front of Indira Bhavan where leaders from across the State came to cast their votes.

    ALSO READ | Gandhi’s Kharge? Independent Tharoor? Congress to elect party chief after two decades 

    The polling agents for Mallikarjun Kharge are MP V K Sreekandan and MP Dean Kuriakose and former  MLAs V S Sivakumar and A A Shukkoor. The polling agents for Tharoor are Mannamoola Rajan, R Sivakumar, Sanal Kumar and Vijayachandran. Prior to the start of the election, Kodikunnil said once the elections are over the party will be united.

    “But Tharoor should have withdrawn from the race. There is no scope of rivalry once the elections are over”, said Kodikunnil.

    ALSO READ: Sixth time in its 137-year-history Congress all set to have internal elections for its president

    P T Ajayamohan, Veliyankode block in Ponnani Assembly constituency in Malappuram and son of former legislator P T Mohanakrishnan was the first KPCC office bearer to cast his vote. State Congress general secretary K A Thulasi whose leg was in a cast was wheeled inside a wheelchair and was accompanied by her husband, V K Sreekandan, Palakkad MP.

    Her leg was fractured during the course of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Kerala Pradesh Returning Officer G Parameswara and Assistant Returning Officer, V K Arivazhagan told reporters that anyone who puts other than a tick mark will be considered as an invalid vote.

    “The voting would conclude at 4 pm. There are two polling booths. The two sealed ballot boxes would be taken to New Delhi on Monday itself”, said Parameswara.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The voting for the Congress presidential election has started at the State party headquarters at Indira Bhavan. State Congress working president Kodikunnil Suresh opined that Shashi Tharoor MP should have withdrawn from the presidential poll.

    Indira Bhavan which is the cynosure of all eyes saw a large posse of KPCC office bearers and also those who don’t have voting rights converge at the party headquarters much before the start of the election. The voting began at 9 am. A large queue was formed in front of Indira Bhavan where leaders from across the State came to cast their votes.

    ALSO READ | Gandhi’s Kharge? Independent Tharoor? Congress to elect party chief after two decades 

    The polling agents for Mallikarjun Kharge are MP V K Sreekandan and MP Dean Kuriakose and former  MLAs V S Sivakumar and A A Shukkoor. The polling agents for Tharoor are Mannamoola Rajan, R Sivakumar, Sanal Kumar and Vijayachandran. Prior to the start of the election, Kodikunnil said once the elections are over the party will be united.

    “But Tharoor should have withdrawn from the race. There is no scope of rivalry once the elections are over”, said Kodikunnil.

    ALSO READ: Sixth time in its 137-year-history Congress all set to have internal elections for its president

    P T Ajayamohan, Veliyankode block in Ponnani Assembly constituency in Malappuram and son of former legislator P T Mohanakrishnan was the first KPCC office bearer to cast his vote. State Congress general secretary K A Thulasi whose leg was in a cast was wheeled inside a wheelchair and was accompanied by her husband, V K Sreekandan, Palakkad MP.

    Her leg was fractured during the course of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Kerala Pradesh Returning Officer G Parameswara and Assistant Returning Officer, V K Arivazhagan told reporters that anyone who puts other than a tick mark will be considered as an invalid vote.

    “The voting would conclude at 4 pm. There are two polling booths. The two sealed ballot boxes would be taken to New Delhi on Monday itself”, said Parameswara.

  • Will have no shame in taking advice of Gandhi family: Mallikarjun Kharge

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, in case he becomes its President, as they have struggled and put their strength for its growth.

    The veteran leader said that he is the “delegates’ candidate” in this polls to the party’s highest post, scheduled for October 17.

    “They say such things as there is nothing else to tell. BJP indulges in such a campaign and others follow it. Sonia Gandhi has worked for 20 years in the organisation. Rahul Gandhi was also president. They have struggled for the party and put their strength for its growth,” Kharge said responding to a question about talk that he would be the remote control of the Gandhi family on becoming the AICC President.

    Speaking to reporters here, he highlighted that the Nehru-Gandhi family has contributed immensely and sacrificed for this country from Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi.

    “Just because we (Congress) lost a few elections, saying such a thing (against Gandhis) is not right. They have done good for this country, their advice will benefit the party, so I will definitely seek their advice and support. There is no shame in it. If something benefits from your (media) advice, I will take it as well. They have worked for this party and taking their advice is my duty,” Kharge said.

    “Further Sonia and Rahul Gandhi know every nook and corner of the country, who is where and who can do what for the party. What has to be done to have unity in the party, I need to learn and I will do it,” he added.

    The Member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka today met some state Congress leaders and addressed the media, as part of his campaign trail here.

    He is pitted against Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in the grand old party’s presidential polls for which results will be declared on October 19.

    READ HERE | Sixth time in its 137-year-history Congress all set to have internal elections for its president

    Khage however, did not want to make any direct comments on his opponent in the poll – Tharoor – or his campaign, and merely said that, everyone has the right to speak about their merit, while seeking support, like he has been highlighting about his connection with the party’s grassroots level.

    “I don’t want to get into any controversy, he (Tharoor) is saying his thoughts, I don’t want to debate on his thoughts. I’m sharing my thoughts. It is our organisation or a family matter. He has the right to say what he wants to, similarly I too have. It is an internal friendly fight,” he said, to a question about his message for Tharoor.

    Rebutting talk that it will be a rigged election, with senior leaders and delegates who will vote, openly supporting him, Kharge said, “I’m contacting election delegates, my campaign managers are organising. I’m a candidate of delegates, senior leaders and delegates have sponsored me.”

    He said after the Gandhi family took a stand that none of them would contest for the Congress President post, senior leaders, leaders and delegates from various states, asked him to contest, considering his long service to the party organisation.

    Asked about the Congress in election-bound Karnataka and about the impact of his election as party president, Kharge said, “leaders in the state are fighting with a cause and working hard. I believe in collective leadership, collective consultancy. The Congress in Karnataka is united and will form a government in the state (after the 2023 Assembly polls).”

    BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, in case he becomes its President, as they have struggled and put their strength for its growth.

    The veteran leader said that he is the “delegates’ candidate” in this polls to the party’s highest post, scheduled for October 17.

    “They say such things as there is nothing else to tell. BJP indulges in such a campaign and others follow it. Sonia Gandhi has worked for 20 years in the organisation. Rahul Gandhi was also president. They have struggled for the party and put their strength for its growth,” Kharge said responding to a question about talk that he would be the remote control of the Gandhi family on becoming the AICC President.

    Speaking to reporters here, he highlighted that the Nehru-Gandhi family has contributed immensely and sacrificed for this country from Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi.

    “Just because we (Congress) lost a few elections, saying such a thing (against Gandhis) is not right. They have done good for this country, their advice will benefit the party, so I will definitely seek their advice and support. There is no shame in it. If something benefits from your (media) advice, I will take it as well. They have worked for this party and taking their advice is my duty,” Kharge said.

    “Further Sonia and Rahul Gandhi know every nook and corner of the country, who is where and who can do what for the party. What has to be done to have unity in the party, I need to learn and I will do it,” he added.

    The Member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka today met some state Congress leaders and addressed the media, as part of his campaign trail here.

    He is pitted against Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in the grand old party’s presidential polls for which results will be declared on October 19.

    READ HERE | Sixth time in its 137-year-history Congress all set to have internal elections for its president

    Khage however, did not want to make any direct comments on his opponent in the poll – Tharoor – or his campaign, and merely said that, everyone has the right to speak about their merit, while seeking support, like he has been highlighting about his connection with the party’s grassroots level.

    “I don’t want to get into any controversy, he (Tharoor) is saying his thoughts, I don’t want to debate on his thoughts. I’m sharing my thoughts. It is our organisation or a family matter. He has the right to say what he wants to, similarly I too have. It is an internal friendly fight,” he said, to a question about his message for Tharoor.

    Rebutting talk that it will be a rigged election, with senior leaders and delegates who will vote, openly supporting him, Kharge said, “I’m contacting election delegates, my campaign managers are organising. I’m a candidate of delegates, senior leaders and delegates have sponsored me.”

    He said after the Gandhi family took a stand that none of them would contest for the Congress President post, senior leaders, leaders and delegates from various states, asked him to contest, considering his long service to the party organisation.

    Asked about the Congress in election-bound Karnataka and about the impact of his election as party president, Kharge said, “leaders in the state are fighting with a cause and working hard. I believe in collective leadership, collective consultancy. The Congress in Karnataka is united and will form a government in the state (after the 2023 Assembly polls).”

  • Will revive CWC elections, parliamentary board if I’m Congress president: Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday asserted that if he becomes the AICC chief, he would fully implement the party’s existing constitution which requires CWC elections and revival of the parliamentary board that has been dormant for a quarter-century.

    In an interview with PTI, Tharoor also said the Congress must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party.

    The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said he would fully implement the Udaipur Declaration which was unanimously agreed at the party’s Chintan Shivir earlier this year.

    Asked about his plans for the party if he wins the electoral contest against Mallikarjun Kharge for the top post, the former Union minister said, “I think an important first step would be to call for elections to the Working Committee to spread our inner-party democracy even further.”

    “I am going to implement fully the existing Constitution, which requires CWC elections and the revival of the parliamentary board that has been dormant for a quarter-century, and the Udaipur Declaration which was unanimously agreed,” Tharoor said.

    The holding of the Congress Working Committee elections and the revival of the parliamentary board were among the key demands of the group of 23 leaders, including Tharoor, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale organisational reforms.

    At the Shivir, the Congress had adopted the Udaipur Declaration which included wide-ranging organisational reforms to make the party battle-ready for the next round of assembly and Lok Sabha polls, including wider representation to those under 50 years of age and enforcing ‘one person, one post’ and ‘one family, one ticket’ rules with riders.

    Tharoor said that as he has pointed out in his manifesto that Congress must empower the party in the states by giving real authority to the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, block, mandal, and booth presidents.

    “We must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party. Our PCC delegates, for instance, have literally had no role for the last 22 years but to vote in the coming election on October 17th!” the 66-year-old leader said.

    “I want their elected status to be honoured by ensuring PCC delegates a place on the platform when any senior leader comes visiting, involve them in the consultations that must take place before candidates are selected for elections, and so on,” he said.

    Tharoor stressed that the Congress must provide a credible alternative to the BJP’s “centralisation of authority” in its party affairs and in the affairs of governance.

    “I have been a big fan of the 2014 UPA election slogan ‘Main nahin, hum’. Re-imagining the organisation, delegating powers to grassroots-level leaders and empowering our workers as stakeholders in our success, will not only free the new president from the onerous burdens of over-administration, but help recreate the strong state leadership that, in past eras, strengthened the Congress’ national appeal,” he said.

    Tharoor, who has run an energetic campaign across various states to seek the support of the PCC delegates for his Congress presidential bid, also said the response from ordinary party workers, especially young delegates, has been immensely encouraging.

    “Many have even volunteered to spread my message among their own circles and are supporting my campaign with a level of enthusiasm that is both inspiring and humbling,” he said.

    “I look forward to continuing to put my best foot forward and to work as hard as humanly possible in this campaign, which is the only way I can repay their faith and trust in my candidacy,” the senior Congress leader said.

    Tharoor has asserted that he is the candidate for reform and change in the way the party is run, only to make it fighting fit to tackle the BJP in 2024.

    Tharoor is pitted against Kharge, who is being seen as a favourite for the top party post because of his perceived proximity to the Gandhi family.

    However, Tharoor has reiterated time and again that the Gandhi family has made it clear that they are staying above the fray and are neutral.

    At a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Yatra last week, Rahul Gandhi had dismissed claims that the next Congress president would be “remote-controlled” by his family, saying both the contenders — Kharge and Tharoor — are people of stature and understanding and to make such a suggestion was insulting for them.

    The Congress presidential poll will take place on October 17 and the results will be out on October 19.

    NEW DELHI: Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday asserted that if he becomes the AICC chief, he would fully implement the party’s existing constitution which requires CWC elections and revival of the parliamentary board that has been dormant for a quarter-century.

    In an interview with PTI, Tharoor also said the Congress must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party.

    The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said he would fully implement the Udaipur Declaration which was unanimously agreed at the party’s Chintan Shivir earlier this year.

    Asked about his plans for the party if he wins the electoral contest against Mallikarjun Kharge for the top post, the former Union minister said, “I think an important first step would be to call for elections to the Working Committee to spread our inner-party democracy even further.”

    “I am going to implement fully the existing Constitution, which requires CWC elections and the revival of the parliamentary board that has been dormant for a quarter-century, and the Udaipur Declaration which was unanimously agreed,” Tharoor said.

    The holding of the Congress Working Committee elections and the revival of the parliamentary board were among the key demands of the group of 23 leaders, including Tharoor, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale organisational reforms.

    At the Shivir, the Congress had adopted the Udaipur Declaration which included wide-ranging organisational reforms to make the party battle-ready for the next round of assembly and Lok Sabha polls, including wider representation to those under 50 years of age and enforcing ‘one person, one post’ and ‘one family, one ticket’ rules with riders.

    Tharoor said that as he has pointed out in his manifesto that Congress must empower the party in the states by giving real authority to the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, block, mandal, and booth presidents.

    “We must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party. Our PCC delegates, for instance, have literally had no role for the last 22 years but to vote in the coming election on October 17th!” the 66-year-old leader said.

    “I want their elected status to be honoured by ensuring PCC delegates a place on the platform when any senior leader comes visiting, involve them in the consultations that must take place before candidates are selected for elections, and so on,” he said.

    Tharoor stressed that the Congress must provide a credible alternative to the BJP’s “centralisation of authority” in its party affairs and in the affairs of governance.

    “I have been a big fan of the 2014 UPA election slogan ‘Main nahin, hum’. Re-imagining the organisation, delegating powers to grassroots-level leaders and empowering our workers as stakeholders in our success, will not only free the new president from the onerous burdens of over-administration, but help recreate the strong state leadership that, in past eras, strengthened the Congress’ national appeal,” he said.

    Tharoor, who has run an energetic campaign across various states to seek the support of the PCC delegates for his Congress presidential bid, also said the response from ordinary party workers, especially young delegates, has been immensely encouraging.

    “Many have even volunteered to spread my message among their own circles and are supporting my campaign with a level of enthusiasm that is both inspiring and humbling,” he said.

    “I look forward to continuing to put my best foot forward and to work as hard as humanly possible in this campaign, which is the only way I can repay their faith and trust in my candidacy,” the senior Congress leader said.

    Tharoor has asserted that he is the candidate for reform and change in the way the party is run, only to make it fighting fit to tackle the BJP in 2024.

    Tharoor is pitted against Kharge, who is being seen as a favourite for the top party post because of his perceived proximity to the Gandhi family.

    However, Tharoor has reiterated time and again that the Gandhi family has made it clear that they are staying above the fray and are neutral.

    At a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Yatra last week, Rahul Gandhi had dismissed claims that the next Congress president would be “remote-controlled” by his family, saying both the contenders — Kharge and Tharoor — are people of stature and understanding and to make such a suggestion was insulting for them.

    The Congress presidential poll will take place on October 17 and the results will be out on October 19.

  • Not quitting Congress president race, it’s a fight to finish: Shashi Tharoor

    By Express News Service

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid rumours that he has withdrawn from the election, Shashi Tharoor on Saturday sought to clear the air, saying he is very much in the race. In a video message, Tharoor said he has come across rumours attributing to Delhi sources that he has backed out.

    “If not now, then never… I don’t withdraw from a challenge. Never have all my life, never will. This is a struggle. It’s a friendly contest within the party. But it’s a fight to the finish and I’m here to stay the course,” the Thiruvanathapuram MP said.

    Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader said that Tharoor expects some undercurrents from his home state Kerala. “He is aware that he will not win, but he is determined to bring down the votes of Kharge. This will help him get a berth in the Congress Working Committee or become the general secretary,” the leader said.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid rumours that he has withdrawn from the election, Shashi Tharoor on Saturday sought to clear the air, saying he is very much in the race. In a video message, Tharoor said he has come across rumours attributing to Delhi sources that he has backed out.

    “If not now, then never… I don’t withdraw from a challenge. Never have all my life, never will. This is a struggle. It’s a friendly contest within the party. But it’s a fight to the finish and I’m here to stay the course,” the Thiruvanathapuram MP said.

    Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader said that Tharoor expects some undercurrents from his home state Kerala. “He is aware that he will not win, but he is determined to bring down the votes of Kharge. This will help him get a berth in the Congress Working Committee or become the general secretary,” the leader said.

  • When a candidate decides to contest, how I can stop him: Mallikarjun Kharge on Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Nominee for the Congress president post Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the “sake of democracy”.

    Kharge said if he becomes the party chief, he will consult the Gandhi family and other senior leaders and implement the good things suggested by them, even as he rejected claims that he was the “official candidate” backed by the Gandhis.

    Launching his Congress presidential poll campaign with a press conference at his residence here, 80-year-old Kharge said there is no G-23 camp now and all those leaders want to fight unitedly against the RSS-BJP and therefore are supporting him.

    Several dissident leaders such as Bhupinder Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Prithviraj Chavan of the group of 23, which had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 for large scale organisational reform, have put their weight behind Kharge by becoming his proposers instead of backing Tharoor who was a prominent member of the grouping.

    Kharge said all senior leaders and youth leaders urged him to contest the polls as no member of the Gandhi family — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — wanted to become the party chief.

    “All my colleagues told me to fight the party president poll and on their calling and encouragement, I got inspiration as they extended their cooperation because Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi do not want to become president,” he said.

    Kharge asserted that he had not entered the poll fray to oppose anyone but to strengthen the Congress through his views and to take forward the party ideology.

    He said that in line with ‘one person, one post’ principle of the party, he resigned as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha on the day he filed the nomination.

    Kharge elaborated on his political journey of struggles and successes, and asserted that working for a party is not a part-time job but a full-time work.

    “I have been working full-time. If I sat in Parliament then I would get up only in the evening at the time of shut down. It is my habit that whatever I take up, I work sincerely,” he said.

    Asked about Tharoor’s remarks that Kharge is a candidate of continuity and status quo, the Rajya Sabha MP said, “He (Tharoor) may have his views. The status quo and reforms he talks of will be decided by the 9,300-odd delegates, after that a committee will be formed (Congress Working Committee). The committee as a whole will decide all policy matters that will be formulated by consensus and we will implement that. It will not be done by one person. For me the key word is ‘Hum (We)’ instead of ‘main (Me). We will decide together and wherever there are shortcomings, we will take action,” he said.

    Kharge said senior leaders urged him to contest in view of the pressing issues facing the country such as high unemployment, rising inflation, widening gap between the rich and the poor and the BJP not fulfilling any of its promises.

    “Will always work to take forward party’s principles and ideology,” he said.

    Rejecting claims that he was the official candidate and the BJP’s criticism that the Gandhi family will wield real power, Kharge said the BJP always tries to undermine the Congress.

    “When did they (BJP) have elections, do they have an election authority? How many delegates they have? Who elected J P Nadda? Have their presidents been elected in polls.

    In the Congress, we have election authority, delegates, voting power, candidates in fray.

    Still they (BJP) are saying election is not happening, the Gandhi family is controlling,” he said.

    Kharge said the Gandhi family has sacrificed a lot for this country and pointed out that Sonia Gandhi did not even want to join politics and was persuaded on the pretext that the country needs her services and she strengthened the party.

    “For 10 years, we were in government, did she try to become PM or efforts made to make Rahul Gandhi PM. Her sacrifice for the party is very big. Rahul Gandhi is undertaking the Bharat Jodo Yatra not just for the party but is fighting against unemployment, to bring unity among people. So, when you get to learn something you must. I will consult them and other senior leaders, but that does not mean that I did not learn anything in 50 years,” he said.

    “I will consult the Gandhi family and will take good things from them and also implement and inculcate them,” he said.

    Dismissing suggestions that he is Gandhis’ candidate, Kharge said all senior leaders had come out in his support during the day of the nominations.

    Talking about Tharoor’s phone call to him after nominations, Kharge said he told him that it would be “better to have a consensus candidate to which he (Tharoor) said that there should be a fight in a democracy, and then I said ok”.

    “When a candidate decides to contest, how I can stop him. So, he is fighting and he is my younger brother. It is a family matter and we have to stay united today and tomorrow,” Kharge asserted.

    He also said he was not fighting the polls as a Dalit leader but as a Congress worker who has served the party for 55 years.

    Kharge and Tharoor were left in the fray in the Congress presidential poll after former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi’s nomination was rejected on Saturday.

    The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

    More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll.

    NEW DELHI: Nominee for the Congress president post Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the “sake of democracy”.

    Kharge said if he becomes the party chief, he will consult the Gandhi family and other senior leaders and implement the good things suggested by them, even as he rejected claims that he was the “official candidate” backed by the Gandhis.

    Launching his Congress presidential poll campaign with a press conference at his residence here, 80-year-old Kharge said there is no G-23 camp now and all those leaders want to fight unitedly against the RSS-BJP and therefore are supporting him.

    Several dissident leaders such as Bhupinder Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Prithviraj Chavan of the group of 23, which had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 for large scale organisational reform, have put their weight behind Kharge by becoming his proposers instead of backing Tharoor who was a prominent member of the grouping.

    Kharge said all senior leaders and youth leaders urged him to contest the polls as no member of the Gandhi family — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — wanted to become the party chief.

    “All my colleagues told me to fight the party president poll and on their calling and encouragement, I got inspiration as they extended their cooperation because Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi do not want to become president,” he said.

    Kharge asserted that he had not entered the poll fray to oppose anyone but to strengthen the Congress through his views and to take forward the party ideology.

    He said that in line with ‘one person, one post’ principle of the party, he resigned as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha on the day he filed the nomination.

    Kharge elaborated on his political journey of struggles and successes, and asserted that working for a party is not a part-time job but a full-time work.

    “I have been working full-time. If I sat in Parliament then I would get up only in the evening at the time of shut down. It is my habit that whatever I take up, I work sincerely,” he said.

    Asked about Tharoor’s remarks that Kharge is a candidate of continuity and status quo, the Rajya Sabha MP said, “He (Tharoor) may have his views. The status quo and reforms he talks of will be decided by the 9,300-odd delegates, after that a committee will be formed (Congress Working Committee). The committee as a whole will decide all policy matters that will be formulated by consensus and we will implement that. It will not be done by one person. For me the key word is ‘Hum (We)’ instead of ‘main (Me). We will decide together and wherever there are shortcomings, we will take action,” he said.

    Kharge said senior leaders urged him to contest in view of the pressing issues facing the country such as high unemployment, rising inflation, widening gap between the rich and the poor and the BJP not fulfilling any of its promises.

    “Will always work to take forward party’s principles and ideology,” he said.

    Rejecting claims that he was the official candidate and the BJP’s criticism that the Gandhi family will wield real power, Kharge said the BJP always tries to undermine the Congress.

    “When did they (BJP) have elections, do they have an election authority? How many delegates they have? Who elected J P Nadda? Have their presidents been elected in polls.

    In the Congress, we have election authority, delegates, voting power, candidates in fray.

    Still they (BJP) are saying election is not happening, the Gandhi family is controlling,” he said.

    Kharge said the Gandhi family has sacrificed a lot for this country and pointed out that Sonia Gandhi did not even want to join politics and was persuaded on the pretext that the country needs her services and she strengthened the party.

    “For 10 years, we were in government, did she try to become PM or efforts made to make Rahul Gandhi PM. Her sacrifice for the party is very big. Rahul Gandhi is undertaking the Bharat Jodo Yatra not just for the party but is fighting against unemployment, to bring unity among people. So, when you get to learn something you must. I will consult them and other senior leaders, but that does not mean that I did not learn anything in 50 years,” he said.

    “I will consult the Gandhi family and will take good things from them and also implement and inculcate them,” he said.

    Dismissing suggestions that he is Gandhis’ candidate, Kharge said all senior leaders had come out in his support during the day of the nominations.

    Talking about Tharoor’s phone call to him after nominations, Kharge said he told him that it would be “better to have a consensus candidate to which he (Tharoor) said that there should be a fight in a democracy, and then I said ok”.

    “When a candidate decides to contest, how I can stop him. So, he is fighting and he is my younger brother. It is a family matter and we have to stay united today and tomorrow,” Kharge asserted.

    He also said he was not fighting the polls as a Dalit leader but as a Congress worker who has served the party for 55 years.

    Kharge and Tharoor were left in the fray in the Congress presidential poll after former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi’s nomination was rejected on Saturday.

    The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17.

    The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day.

    More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll.

  • Congress president election: Map blunder, typo take sheen off Tharoor’s manifesto

    By Express News Service

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor once again stood out with ‘Think Tomorrow, Think Tharoor’, his smartly-worked 13-page manifesto for the Congress presidential election though a blunder and a typo took the sheen off it. The booklet had a map of India without parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and the Thiruvananthapuram MP apologised “unconditionally” for the blunder.

    “No one does such things on purpose. A small team of volunteers made a mistake. We rectified it immediately & I apologise unconditionally for the error,” he tweeted. Earlier in 2019, in his tweet about participation in a rally at Kozhikode against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens, Tharoor shared a ‘distorted’ map of India on Twitter. The northernmost territory of the country was missing from the map.

    A typo, “Think Tomorror, Think Tharoor’’ also cropped up in the manifesto.One key point he endorses is a two-year term for Congress president. He says the party chief should be accessible to all and he/she should regularly interact with party workers.

    Tharoor also calls for decentralisation so that the party delegates powers to the state, district and block-level leaders and empowers grass-root workers. He also has promised to implement the “one person, one post” ideology and to stand for the principles of secularism and an “energetic and confident foreign policy”.

    Tharoor said youths, among whom he has a huge fan following, should be given a chance. He added more leadership roles should be given to women. In the last three Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor’s campaign in Thiruvananthapuram was run by his own team, with external agencies performing the task instead of local party leadership. The Thiruvananthapuram district Congress leadership joined only towards the end, not involving too much.

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor once again stood out with ‘Think Tomorrow, Think Tharoor’, his smartly-worked 13-page manifesto for the Congress presidential election though a blunder and a typo took the sheen off it. The booklet had a map of India without parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and the Thiruvananthapuram MP apologised “unconditionally” for the blunder.

    “No one does such things on purpose. A small team of volunteers made a mistake. We rectified it immediately & I apologise unconditionally for the error,” he tweeted. Earlier in 2019, in his tweet about participation in a rally at Kozhikode against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens, Tharoor shared a ‘distorted’ map of India on Twitter. The northernmost territory of the country was missing from the map.

    A typo, “Think Tomorror, Think Tharoor’’ also cropped up in the manifesto.One key point he endorses is a two-year term for Congress president. He says the party chief should be accessible to all and he/she should regularly interact with party workers.

    Tharoor also calls for decentralisation so that the party delegates powers to the state, district and block-level leaders and empowers grass-root workers. He also has promised to implement the “one person, one post” ideology and to stand for the principles of secularism and an “energetic and confident foreign policy”.

    Tharoor said youths, among whom he has a huge fan following, should be given a chance. He added more leadership roles should be given to women. In the last three Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor’s campaign in Thiruvananthapuram was run by his own team, with external agencies performing the task instead of local party leadership. The Thiruvananthapuram district Congress leadership joined only towards the end, not involving too much.

  • Congress chief polls | Shashi Tharoor: A man of words and many independent moves

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no ‘quockerwodger’ – a word he introduced into our lexicon – acting on the instructions of an influential third party.

    In fact, the bestseller author, wordsmith, former UN diplomat and social media ‘pioneer’ with 8.3 million followers has demonstrated he is quite the opposite of a ‘quockerwodger’, a politically loaded term for a wooden puppet, and is instead independent-minded, making moves on his own terms.

    As speculation over who would be in the race for the Congress president mounted and most of his party colleagues demurred, Tharoor was the first off the block to declare he would contest.

    The 66-year-old filed his nomination at the office of the Congress’ central election authority Madhusudan Mistry on Friday, the last day of the nomination process for the top post in the party long dominated by the Gandhi family.

    Tharoor, seen as a rebel and one of the group of 23 leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale reforms, now takes on veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, widely seen to be backed by senior leaders and tipped to win.

    The longer the Congress waits to get its act together, the greater the risk of a steady erosion of our traditional vote bank and their gravitation towards our political competitors.

    “Which is why I have long been an outspoken advocate for free and transparent elections within the party, including for the post of president,” the forthright former Union minister told PTI.

    Those who have followed Tharoor’s career path say two things — he is full of surprises and up for a fight without being deterred by the odds stacked against him.

    READ HERE | Congress should stand for change, not surprised establishment backing Kharge: Tharoor

    Born in London in 1956, Tharoor graduated with an honours in history from Delhi’s prestigious St Stephen’s College where he was also the president of the student’s union.

    He did his masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Medford, US, and completed a PhD from there in 1978.

    Defying the politician stereotype, Tharoor went on to have a distinguished career in the UN.

    During his stint at the UN, he shouldered several key responsibilities in peace-keeping after the Cold War and serving as senior adviser to the secretary-general, in addition to his role as under-secretary general for Communications and Public Information.

    Tharoor, who was chosen as India’s official candidate for the post of secretary general, finished second of seven candidates in the 2006 election, which was won by former South Korean diplomat and politician Ban Ki-moon.

    His stomach for a fight against daunting odds was perhaps first displayed in that electoral fight.

    Three years later, he retired as an international civil servant and made a lateral entry into politics in 2009 to be elected as MP from Thiruvananthapuram for the first time on a Congress ticket.

    Though his political journey began at 53, he took giant strides as a politician after winning the Lok Sabha election.

    His candidacy was opposed by a section of leaders of the Kerala Congress who viewed him as an outsider.

    Tharoor, however, won by a comfortable margin over his nearest opponent from the Communist Party of India.

    ALSO READ | Mallikarjun Kharge​, a Gandhi family loyalist poised to be second Congress chief from Karnataka

    He was appointed Union minister of state for External Affairs in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

    Tharoor is a pioneer in using social media as an instrument of political interaction.

    He was India’s most-followed politician on Twitter till 2013 when he was overtaken by current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The often outspoken politician, making headlines for his politics and sometimes also for throwing little-used words that have his Twitter followers reaching for the dictionary, finds himself at the centre of controversy every now and then.

    In 2009, for instance, in the early days of his political career, he made a comment about travelling ‘cattle class’ for which he had to apologise.

    He was also accused of having a questionable interest in a cricket team from the Kerala city of Kochi while he was a minister.

    He resigned from the MEA in April 2010.

    His personal life saw a tragic turn in January 2014 when his wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel here.

    The couple was staying in the hotel as Tharoor’s official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at the time.

    Tharoor was later charged under section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code by Delhi Police.

    A Delhi court discharged him in the case last year.

    The year of his wife’s death was also when he won a second Lok Sabha term from Thiruvananthapuram, swimming against the tide of a massive Narendra Modi wave.

    However, his victory margin came down from a staggering 99,998 votes in 2009 to over 15,000.

    In 2019, he won the seat for a third time, defeating his main rival and BJP-NDA candidate Kummanam Rajashekharan by a margin of 99,989 votes.

    In July 2020, Tharoor crossed a milestone by becoming the longest-serving parliamentarian representing the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

    Tharoor broke the record of Congress’ A Charles, who represented the constituency for 4,047 days from 1984 to 1991.

    An active parliamentarian and amongst the best orators in the House, Tharoor has also been chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and is currently Chair of the parliamentary panel on information and technology and communications.

    However, it has been reported that the government has decided to take the chair-ship of the panel from the Congress.

    Always known to speak his mind, the ‘G 23’ leader has reiterated time and again that his sole intention of being among the signatories to the letter to Sonia Gandhi was reform of the party.

    However, he has been treated by many in the party as a sort of a rebel with many Gandhi loyalists attacking him from time to time.

    Tharoor has been a prolific writer and authored about 23 books, including ‘The Great Indian Novel’, ‘An Era of Darkness’, ‘Why I Am A Hindu’ and ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’.

    He has also won several awards and bestowed with prestigious honours such as the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region for ‘The Great Indian Novel’, Spain’s Commander of the Order of Charles III by King of Spain, the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book ‘An Era of Darkness’ as well as France’s Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.

    Tharoor’s hope in the polls is best summed up by the lines of Urdu poet Majrooh Sultanpuri which the MP had tweeted this week – “Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar log saath aate gaye aur karvaan banta gaya (I began my journey alone, people joined in and the caravan kept on growing).”

    NEW DELHI: By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no ‘quockerwodger’ – a word he introduced into our lexicon – acting on the instructions of an influential third party.

    In fact, the bestseller author, wordsmith, former UN diplomat and social media ‘pioneer’ with 8.3 million followers has demonstrated he is quite the opposite of a ‘quockerwodger’, a politically loaded term for a wooden puppet, and is instead independent-minded, making moves on his own terms.

    As speculation over who would be in the race for the Congress president mounted and most of his party colleagues demurred, Tharoor was the first off the block to declare he would contest.

    The 66-year-old filed his nomination at the office of the Congress’ central election authority Madhusudan Mistry on Friday, the last day of the nomination process for the top post in the party long dominated by the Gandhi family.

    Tharoor, seen as a rebel and one of the group of 23 leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale reforms, now takes on veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, widely seen to be backed by senior leaders and tipped to win.

    The longer the Congress waits to get its act together, the greater the risk of a steady erosion of our traditional vote bank and their gravitation towards our political competitors.

    “Which is why I have long been an outspoken advocate for free and transparent elections within the party, including for the post of president,” the forthright former Union minister told PTI.

    Those who have followed Tharoor’s career path say two things — he is full of surprises and up for a fight without being deterred by the odds stacked against him.

    READ HERE | Congress should stand for change, not surprised establishment backing Kharge: Tharoor

    Born in London in 1956, Tharoor graduated with an honours in history from Delhi’s prestigious St Stephen’s College where he was also the president of the student’s union.

    He did his masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Medford, US, and completed a PhD from there in 1978.

    Defying the politician stereotype, Tharoor went on to have a distinguished career in the UN.

    During his stint at the UN, he shouldered several key responsibilities in peace-keeping after the Cold War and serving as senior adviser to the secretary-general, in addition to his role as under-secretary general for Communications and Public Information.

    Tharoor, who was chosen as India’s official candidate for the post of secretary general, finished second of seven candidates in the 2006 election, which was won by former South Korean diplomat and politician Ban Ki-moon.

    His stomach for a fight against daunting odds was perhaps first displayed in that electoral fight.

    Three years later, he retired as an international civil servant and made a lateral entry into politics in 2009 to be elected as MP from Thiruvananthapuram for the first time on a Congress ticket.

    Though his political journey began at 53, he took giant strides as a politician after winning the Lok Sabha election.

    His candidacy was opposed by a section of leaders of the Kerala Congress who viewed him as an outsider.

    Tharoor, however, won by a comfortable margin over his nearest opponent from the Communist Party of India.

    ALSO READ | Mallikarjun Kharge​, a Gandhi family loyalist poised to be second Congress chief from Karnataka

    He was appointed Union minister of state for External Affairs in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

    Tharoor is a pioneer in using social media as an instrument of political interaction.

    He was India’s most-followed politician on Twitter till 2013 when he was overtaken by current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The often outspoken politician, making headlines for his politics and sometimes also for throwing little-used words that have his Twitter followers reaching for the dictionary, finds himself at the centre of controversy every now and then.

    In 2009, for instance, in the early days of his political career, he made a comment about travelling ‘cattle class’ for which he had to apologise.

    He was also accused of having a questionable interest in a cricket team from the Kerala city of Kochi while he was a minister.

    He resigned from the MEA in April 2010.

    His personal life saw a tragic turn in January 2014 when his wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel here.

    The couple was staying in the hotel as Tharoor’s official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at the time.

    Tharoor was later charged under section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code by Delhi Police.

    A Delhi court discharged him in the case last year.

    The year of his wife’s death was also when he won a second Lok Sabha term from Thiruvananthapuram, swimming against the tide of a massive Narendra Modi wave.

    However, his victory margin came down from a staggering 99,998 votes in 2009 to over 15,000.

    In 2019, he won the seat for a third time, defeating his main rival and BJP-NDA candidate Kummanam Rajashekharan by a margin of 99,989 votes.

    In July 2020, Tharoor crossed a milestone by becoming the longest-serving parliamentarian representing the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

    Tharoor broke the record of Congress’ A Charles, who represented the constituency for 4,047 days from 1984 to 1991.

    An active parliamentarian and amongst the best orators in the House, Tharoor has also been chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and is currently Chair of the parliamentary panel on information and technology and communications.

    However, it has been reported that the government has decided to take the chair-ship of the panel from the Congress.

    Always known to speak his mind, the ‘G 23’ leader has reiterated time and again that his sole intention of being among the signatories to the letter to Sonia Gandhi was reform of the party.

    However, he has been treated by many in the party as a sort of a rebel with many Gandhi loyalists attacking him from time to time.

    Tharoor has been a prolific writer and authored about 23 books, including ‘The Great Indian Novel’, ‘An Era of Darkness’, ‘Why I Am A Hindu’ and ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’.

    He has also won several awards and bestowed with prestigious honours such as the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region for ‘The Great Indian Novel’, Spain’s Commander of the Order of Charles III by King of Spain, the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book ‘An Era of Darkness’ as well as France’s Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.

    Tharoor’s hope in the polls is best summed up by the lines of Urdu poet Majrooh Sultanpuri which the MP had tweeted this week – “Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar log saath aate gaye aur karvaan banta gaya (I began my journey alone, people joined in and the caravan kept on growing).”

  • Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi files nomination for Congress presidential poll

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi on Friday submitted his nomination papers for the Congress president election.

    Tripathi handed over the nomination papers to Madhusudan Mistry, chairman of the Congress’ Central Election Authority, at the AICC headquarters here.

    Besides Tripathi, former Union minister Shashi Tharoor has filed his nomination papers for the election of the Congress president.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is also scheduled to file his nomination.

    Tripathi served as the national president of the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (Tripathi faction).

    NEW DELHI: Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi on Friday submitted his nomination papers for the Congress president election.

    Tripathi handed over the nomination papers to Madhusudan Mistry, chairman of the Congress’ Central Election Authority, at the AICC headquarters here.

    Besides Tripathi, former Union minister Shashi Tharoor has filed his nomination papers for the election of the Congress president.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is also scheduled to file his nomination.

    Tripathi served as the national president of the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (Tripathi faction).