Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge addresses his first press conference after being declared the winner of the Congress presidential elections on Wednesday in New Delhi. (Express/Tashi Tobgyal) Congress President Poll Results 2022 Highlights, Shashi Tharoor, Mallikarjun Kharge: Mallikarjun Kharge, predictably, was elected president of the Congress party, bagging 7,897 votes (84.14%) as against Shashi Tharoor polling 1,072 votes (11.42%). Following the results, when senior leader Rahul Gandhi was asked as to what his role would now be in the Congress party, he said, “…my role, of course I cannot comment on Congress president’s role… that is for Mr Kharge to comment on. I am very clear as far as my role is concerned. The Congress president will decide my role and how I am to be deployed”.
The first non-Gandhi to occupy Congress presidency in two-and-a-half decades, Mallikarjun Kharge has a host of challenges ahead of him. While maintaining the status quo is easy, the biggest challenge before Kharge is to transform the party to reconnect with the people and start winning elections again. Also, the new Congress president has the tricky task of asserting his independence so that he is not viewed as a proxy of the Gandhis.
On counting day, a letter from the Shashi Tharoor team alleging irregularities and malpractices in Uttar Pradesh in the conduct of the election for Congress president emerged in public. However, Madhusudan Mistry, head of the election authority, denied all charges as baseless and said he will give a “point-by-point” reply to Tharoor’s chief election agent.
Congress party presidential candidates Shashi Tharoor in Lucknow and Mallikarjun Kharge in Bellary (PTI, Twitter)
Mallikarjun Kharge was elected Congress president on Wednesday, defeating the party’s Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a hard-fought contest for leadership but the euphoria in the party — its proclamations of inner-party democracy and digs at the opponents — will soon give way to the reality of the challenges that lie ahead for the 80-year-old veteran leader.
Barring once in 2019, Kharge has not lost any election, earning him the Kannada sobriquet “solillada sardara (a leader without defeat)”. His victory was expected, given the support he had from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) establishment. The leadership sinking their differences had joined forces to ensure continuity. Disruption, they felt, would be disastrous. Read more.
THE CONGRESS presidential election result on Wednesday was not unexpected, but did throw up a minor surprise. While Mallikarjun Kharge won 7,897 votes (84.14%) to become the first non-Gandhi party chief in 24 years, Shashi Tharoor surprised many by polling 1,072 votes (11.42%). Of the total 9,385 votes, 416 votes were declared invalid.
The over 11% vote share that Tharoor got reflects the vote for change in the party. Tharoor was among the first to reach Kharge’s residence to congratulate him. Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her daughter and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too drove to Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg home to wish the party president-elect. Read more.
THE Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress found itself under the microscope in the final lap of the Mallikarjun Kharge vs Shashi Tharoor contest. In a letter written on the eve of the result, Tharoor’s election agent Salman Soz accused that the election in UP to pick the next president of the Congress saw “extremely serious irregularities”.
In the four-page letter to Madhusudan Mistry, who oversaw the election, Soz alleged “use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes”, “presence of unofficial persons in polling booths”, “voting malpractice”, “no polling summary sheet”. “As you can see, the facts are damning and the election process in UP is devoid of credibility and integrity,” he wrote. Speaking to The Indian Express, Rameshwar Lal Dudi, who was the Pradesh Returning Officer for the election in UP, said it was a minor disagreement. “The allegations were levelled, and Madhusudan Mistryji clarified, and Shashi Tharoorji also accepted it. The election was peaceful and very fair. There is no question of any irregularity.” Manoj CG writes
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor lost the party's presidential poll but managed to garner more votes than any of the losing candidates in the elections to the top party post held in 2000 and 1997. Congress' central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Wednesday announced that of the 9,385 votes polled in the Congress president election, veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge got 7,897 votes and Tharoor 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid.
Tharoor got about 12 per cent of the total valid votes. In the last election in 2000, it was Jitendra Prasada who took on Sonia Gandhi. Prasada suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Gandhi who garnered 7,448 votes (98.76 per cent of valid votes), while Prasada reportedly polled a paltry 94 (1.24 per cent of the valid votes).
In 1997, Sitaram Kesri won in a triangular contest with Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot. (PTI)
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday elected as the national president of the grand old party, beating Shashi Tharoor in a tightly fought contest. In pic: Kharge flashes a victory sign after the results were out. See more pictures here
The Congress presidential election has energised party workers to take on the challenge the BJP poses in upcoming elections, Shashi Tharoor, who lost the poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said on Wednesday. Tharoor told a press conference here he was never a candidate of dissent, but for change.
Kharge's victory was a victory of the Congress, he said, adding the party's presidential election was to strengthen the organisation. 'This augurs well for the Congress. We will move forward from here. Our workers have been energised to take on the challenge posed by the BJP and I am also confident that our party will display its strength,' said Tharoor, who got 1,072 votes against Kharge's 7,897. (PTI)
He was always the underdog, punching above his weight. But by securing 1,000-plus votes in the Congress presidential election, Shashi Tharoor has made a mark and declared that he cannot be ignored anymore. And the close to 12 per cent vote share that he received shows that there is appetite for change in the Congress – or, in other words, resentment against the status quo that the AICC establishment so desperately wanted.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the new Congress president, and the leadership will have to acknowledge Tharoor and the sentiment he represented in the high-stake internal election. Those close to Tharoor said the 1,000-plus votes were also impressive given the perception that Kharge was an establishment nominee. Not to forget, they said, closer to the election, there was pressure on the delegates to side with the establishment. The Tharoor camp repeatedly talked of being stonewalled by the PCCs in several states, and sources close to him said that many more than the 1,072 who voted for him backed his promise of change but lacked the courage to take it further. Manoj CG writes
The results of the much-dramatised election for the Congress party president are in. Congress finally has a full-time president after three years. It will be the first time in 24 years that the party will have a non-Nehru dynasty president. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The one-sided contest and the sweeping victory of the octogenarian “unofficial official candidate” of the dynasty, Mallikarjun Kharge, has only cemented the status quo in the moribund party. Everyone knows where the real decision-making power will rest. The theatrics and result of the election paint a picture of Congress as a party riven by internal strife, incapable of imagination and out of sync with the new India. Abhinav Prakash writes
Hours after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was officially elected as the party president, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday congratulated him.
Gowda said, "I heartily congratulate my friend and colleague of many decades, Mallikarjun @kharge, on being elected @INCIndia President. This is a proud and historic moment for the Congress and also Karnataka. May God give him the strength to take his party to new heights across India."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his former deputy Sachin Pilot and other leaders from the state congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected as the president of the Congress party. Gehlot, Pilot and Mahesh Joshi, the Congress chief whip in the state Assembly, separately met Kharge in Delhi after his victory. The Congress on Wednesday elected Kharge as its president, the first non-Gandhi to head the party in 24 years, after a contest between him and senior party leader Shashi Tharoor.
Chief Minister Gehlot, who arrived here after his tour to poll-bound Gujarat, met Kharge at his residence and congratulated him. "Congratulations and best wishes to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected the National President of the Congress Party," Gehlot tweeted, sharing a video of their meeting. Congress Rajya Sabha members Neeraj Dangi and Mukul Wasnik were also present. (PTI)
The elections for the president of the Indian National Congress should have been a routine affair, given the long history of internal democracy in the party. However, we cannot complain that so much is being made of it this time. Of course, after over two decades, we will not see a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family occupy the highest office of the party although that was not the intent or aspiration of hundreds of party rank and file. Yet, our leadership has insisted that this is how it must be and we will make the most of it.
Even as we celebrate the initial moments of the tenure of the new president, we cannot stop wondering if many outsiders and the media at large that have shown great interest in the process are genuinely motivated by a commitment to greater democracy in political parties or simply a cynical interest in what the Congress party chooses to do or not do. We seldom see a similar interest shown in the proceedings of other parties, big and small. If the burden of democracy is to be carried by the Indian National Congress, so be it. If higher standards and expectations are meant for our party alone, so be it. Salman Khurshid writes
Hours after veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge swept the Congress presidential election beating Shashi Tharoor in a tightly fought contest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday extended his wishes to Kharge for his new responsibility as the Congress president.
“My best wishes to Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji for his new responsibility as President of @INCIndia. May he have a fruitful tenure ahead. @kharge,” Modi tweeted. Read more
The high-decibel election for the Congress presidency is over. And now the focus will now be back on Rajasthan. New Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the senior leadership will have to take a call on whether to let Ashok Gehlot continue as Chief Minister, given the huge support he has of the MLAs, or force a regime change and bring in Sachin Pilot.
Sources in the party said the Rajasthan issue was “still open” and argued that a decision had been deferred till the party presidential elections. One of the first tasks before Kharge will be to settle the dispute in the state unit. Read more
Mallikarjun Kharge was elected Congress president on Wednesday, defeating the party’s Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a hard-fought contest for leadership but the euphoria in the party — its proclamations of inner-party democracy and digs at the opponents — will soon give way to the reality of the challenges that lie ahead for the 80-year-old veteran leader.
Barring once in 2019, Kharge has not lost any election, earning him the Kannada sobriquet “solillada sardara (a leader without defeat)”. His victory was expected, given the support he had from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) establishment. The leadership sinking their differences had joined forces to ensure continuity. Disruption, they felt, would be disastrous. Read more
BJP leader Rajyavardhan Rathore on Wednesday called newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge a "rubber stamp" and alleged that the party's internal polls to its chief were a "fraud". Reacting to allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Jaipur Rural MP said when the party cannot conduct internal polls between two people properly, then "how can it deal with elections at the national level".
Kharge won the polls for the post of the Congress president, the results of which were announced on Wednesday. He was pitted against party leader Shashi Tharoor. "A strong opposition is required for a strong democracy. After a long period of time, the Congress party is looking away from one family but still it has searched a rubber stamp. Their internal election is just a fraud and drama," he said. (PTI)
PM Narendra Modi wished Mallikarjun Kharge upon winning the Congress presidential polls, for which the results were declared on Wednesday. Modi tweeted, "My best wishes to Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji for his new responsibility as President of @INCIndia. May he have a fruitful tenure ahead."
With Mallikarjun Kharge sweeping the party’s presidential elections, party leaders from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah congratulated the veteran functionary as he became the first non-Gandhi president in more than two decades.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor who sprang a surprise by polling more than 1,000 votes in the elections was among the first people to congratulate Kharge. “It is a great honour & a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia & I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues,& to carry the hopes & aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India.” Read more
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said, "We (Congress) are united to stand up against BJP."
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost to Mallikarjun Kharge in the party presidential elections, on Wednesday said, "I didn't stand for dissent, I stood for change."
Addressing a press conference after the results for the Congress presidential elections were declared, nominee Shashi Tharoor, who secured 1072 votes, said that Kharge's win is Congress party's win.
Congress party-president elect Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said, "need to fight against conspiracy to kill democracy." He added that the party elections strengethend the democracy in the country.
Addressing his first press conference after being declared the Congress party's next president, Mallikarjun Kharge said that the party had solidigied democracy in India. "Democracy is in danger," Kharge said.
Hours after Mallikarjun Kharge was officially declared as the next president of the Congress, he said, "Shashi Tharoor and I will work together." He also congratulated Tharoor for contesting in the election.
Karnataka Congress Wednesday celebrated the victory of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). While congratulatory messages came in from across party lines, many of them hoped the party would flourish under Kharge’s leadership.
At the state Congress office, the celebrations were led by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s president D K Shivakumar. “My heartiest congratulations to the newly elected Congress Party President, Sri @Kharge. With his vast experience as a leader, I am sure he will add value and take the party to newer heights. A proud moment for us Kannadigas as Sri Kharge is quite attached to his grassroots,” Shivakumar said in a tweet.
Mallikarjun Kharge, predictably, has been elected president of the Congress party. He had preferred a consensus instead of a contest, but Shashi Tharoor wouldn’t relent. In any case, the contest has done a wealth of good to the party, and in general to political discourse in India.
Although the charge that Kharge was the “official” nominee of the Nehru-Gandhi family was converted into cussedness by the Tharoor camp, the contest made two opposite worldviews face each other. Tharoor represented an urban, technocratic, anglophone world that was impatient for change. Kharge symbolised old-world loyalties, rooted liberalism and an uncommon pragmatism that saw any and all change as only gradual and incremental. Sugata Srinivasaraju writes
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday expressed confidence that new Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will renew the consultative process which existed in the party earlier. Talking to PTI, senior Congress leader Chavan congratulated Kharge for winning a decisive mandate.
"I hope Kharge will use his electoral and administrative experience in strengthening the Congress and take it to new heights. I am confident that he will renew the consultative process that existed in the party earlier," Chavan said. (PTI)
Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday visited party chief-elect Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi, after the latter swept the party’s high-stakes presidential polls on Wednesday, paving the way for him to become the Congress’ first non-Gandhi president in over two decades. (Source: AICC)
Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday visited party chief-elect Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi, just a few hours after he was officially declared as the winner for the high-stakes party presidential elections. Sonia Gandhi was accompanied by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during their visit, PTI reported.
As expected, Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday elected the Congress president beating Shashi Tharoor in a tightly fought contest. The veteran, who won 7,897 of the valid votes (84.14 per cent) of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates to Tharoor’s 1,072 (11.4 per cent), takes over as the first non-Gandhi chief of the party in two-and-a-half decades. While Kharge’s victory was no less than a landslide, Tharoor managed to cross the 1,000 vote mark, surprising many in the party. Manoj CG writes
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge after the latter was officially declared the winner of the high-stakes party presidential race. (Express/Tashi Tobgyal)
After senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was officially declared the next president of the party Wednesday, Rajasthan party leader Sachin Pilot told news agency ANI, "Mallikarjun Kharge won with a huge majority; a win of democracy. I congratulated him. I've faith his experience will benefit the party...9000 elected people elected the President, this was never done before by any party. The Opposition must be nervous today."
With Karnataka leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s election as president of the Congress, the state unit of the party is hoping for good tidings. Apart from enthusing the Congress worker base in Karnataka, party leaders feel this could provide the healing touch needed by the faction-rid state unit which is often in the news for the wrong reasons.
The development also has the potential to swing voters towards the Congress in the seven backward districts of Kalyana Karnataka (formerly Hyderabad Karnataka region) where Kharge, a nine-time MLA from Karnataka, wields significant influence for his role in adoption of Article 371J in the Constitution, which provides special status to the region. Read more
Mallikarjun Kharge has defeated Shashi Tharoor in the Congress Presidential Polls. Here is a breakup of the votes:
Celebratios have broken out outisde the AICC headquarters after Mallikarjun Kharge was declared the winner of the high-stakes Congress presidential race. Take a look:
Soon after Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was declared the winner of the Congress' high-stakes presidential race, his opponent Shashi Tharoor congratulated him on his victory.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge swept the party’s high-stakes presidential polls on Wednesday, paving the way for him to become the Congress’ first non-Gandhi president in over two decades. While Kharge received 7,897 of the total 9,385 votes, his opponent, Shashi Tharoor, trailed behind with 1,072 votes. Kharge will replace interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who has been occupying the post ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In what appeared to be a slip of tongue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today responded to a question referring to Mallikarjun Kharge as the new Congress president. When asked what his role will be in the party, Rahul said: "My new role is for the Congress president to decide.. ask Khargeji". Counting of votes is currently underway and it is widely expected that Kharge will emerge victorious in the election, one that is being held by the party after over two decades.
On the eve of counting of votes for the Congress’ high-stakes presidential election, the Shashi Tharoor camp on Tuesday approached the election authority alleging that there were certain irregularities on voting day in some states. The Tharoor camp is said to have claimed that there were irregularities in three states, including Uttar Pradesh, which has the largest number of PCC delegates.
The Tharoor camp claimed that in Uttar Pradesh ballot boxes were not sealed after polling was over, as per the guidelines issued by the authority. Read more.
Hours ahead of the Congress declaring its new president, Gaurav Gogoi, the election agent of Mallikarjun Kharge, said that this was a 'historic moment'. 'It's a historic moment. We're proud that we held poll in such a democratic manner.We also feel gratitude towards Sonia Gandhi who took charge of the party during a difficult time. In time to come,Congress will further strengthen,' Gogoi told news agency ANI.
Amid the counting of votes in the Congress Presidential polls, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's election agent Salman Soz said that he had alerted the party's election authority chief of various issues that have arisen during the election. "We've been in constant communication with Madhusudan Mistry's office, informed them about many different issues, cannot get into its specifics right now," Soz told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, helmed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is continuing in Andhra Pradesh. Gandhi visited the Sri Ganga Bhavani temple in Adoni this morning. He is set to address a press conference later in the day.
Moments after the counting of votes commenced at the AICC headquarters, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is competing for the top party post, tweeted thanking everyone who had contibuted to "this historic event". Here's what he said.
With counting of votes commencing at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, we are hours away from finding out who will replace Sonia Gandhi as Congress President.
In an interview with The Indian Express earlier this month, Mallikarjun Kharge talks about how he believes in collective decision-making, says implementing decisions of Udaipur Chintan Shivir will be his first priority, and says he is for consensus where there can be consensus. Excerpts:
How will a Mallikarjun Kharge presidency help the Congress?
Kharge: In a democracy we have to work according to the wishes of the people. The (PCC) delegates know what benefit or loss it (my presidency) will have. And the leaders also know. I have been working in this organisation for 55 years. So they know it better. I am contesting the election on their request. They must have thought about the plus and minus. Read the full interview.
While voting is set to commence in the next couple of hours at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, helmed by Rahul Gandhi, commenced from Chagi village in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool this morning. Take a look:
Over 9,500 votes cast across the country earlier this week, will be counted from 10 am onwards at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. The new president will replace interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who has been occupying the post ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The high-stakes contest between frontrunner Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor in the election for the post of Congress president drew a massive turnout of voters Monday with close to 96 per cent of Pradesh Congress Committee delegates casting their ballot, according to the party.
Setting the stage for the counting Wednesday, a visibly happy Sonia Gandhi, the outgoing Congress president, said after casting her vote at the AICC headquarters in Delhi: “I have been waiting for a long time for this day.” The result will mark the first time the party will get a non-Gandhi at the helm after more than two decades.
Among the other early voters at the 24, Akbar Road, party headquarters were an ailing former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Sonia’s daughter and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi voted at a specially set-up booth at the Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Sanganakallu in Karnataka’s Ballari.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog! The Congress is set to get its first non-Gandhi president in over two decades on Wednesday, with party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor vying for the top post.
Over 9,500 votes cast across the country earlier this week, will be counted from 10 am onwards at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. The new president will replace interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who has been occupying the post ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Follow this space for the latest updates.