The Congress elected veteran Mallikarjun Kharge as its new leader today, making him the party’s first non-Gandhi leader in 24 years.
On October 26, he will assume control.
In a race against Shashi Tharoor, Mr. Kharge, 80, who is popularly regarded as the “Gandhi-approved” candidate, received 84% of the votes cast on Monday.
Sonia Gandhi, who consented to serve as the party’s interim leader after Rahul Gandhi resigned in 2019 and accepted blame for the party’s repeated losses in general elections, is replaced by Mr. Kharge.
Sonia Gandhi, who consented to serve as the party’s interim leader after Rahul Gandhi resigned in 2019 and accepted blame for the party’s repeated losses in general elections, is replaced by Mr. Kharge.
Mr. Kharge intended to meet Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence as is customary for the Congress.
However, based on the circumstances, Sonia Gandhi reportedly determined it should be the other way around.
She drove with a bouquet to Mr. Kharge’s 10, Rajaji residence.
Even though Mr. Kharge entered the race at the last minute, his overwhelming win was never in question.
He received 7,897 votes, while Shashi Tharoor received 1,072 votes. Rahul Gandhi provided the confirmation at a press conference in Andhra Pradesh before the results were made public.
Regarding the new president’s job while he still serves as the party’s public face, Rahul Gandhi said, “I can’t comment on the role of the Congress president; that’s for Mr. Kharge to remark on.”
You must ask Kharge ji and Sonia ji, he replied, “as the president will decide what my job is and how I am to be deployed.” He said that, like every other party member, he will “report to” Mr. Kharge.
Celebrations broke out at the Congress office after the results were revealed, the likes of which had not been witnessed in years since the party had suffered defeat after defeat.
Even while Mr. Kharge, who is close to the Gandhis, has vowed reforms, few anticipate sweeping changes under his leadership.
Change was a central theme of his opponent Shashi Tharoor’s campaign, but he ultimately fell short. Regardless of the results, he claimed that the elections had “ultimately strengthened the party.”
“To meet the difficulties ahead, I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in Congress.
I think tonight is the real start of our party’s resuscitation “According to Mr. Tharoor’s comments.
“To meet the difficulties ahead, I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in Congress.
I think tonight is the real start of our party’s resuscitation “According to Mr. Tharoor’s comments.
This morning’s vote-counting procedure was allegedly marred by “very serious abnormalities,” according to Mr. Tharoor.
His team demanded that the ballots in Uttar Pradesh be thrown out in a stern letter.
Later on, Mr. Tharoor regretted that the letter had been released and retracted the demand, saying, “Let’s go on.”
The Gandhis, who were held responsible for the party’s failure to succeed in winning elections, chose not to participate in the race and requested that the new Congress chief come from a different family.
The majority of the time since the nation’s independence, the Congress has been led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Due to the large number of candidates, only six elections were held, with the first taking place in 1939 when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose defeated P Sitaramayya, who had Mahatma Gandhi’s backing.
Sources claim that Sonia Gandhi will continue to lead the Congress parliamentary party.
She continued to refer to herself in all of her official correspondence as the interim chief even after she took the role in 2019.
In this capacity, she will select Mr. Kharge’s replacement as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.