In the first week of January, Kharge shifted Tagore to Goa and appointed Maharashtra leader Manickaro Thakre as the in-charge of Telangana. Rahul did not intervene or oppose. At the same time, Kharge allowed Reddy to continue — after gathering that he was hugely popular among the Congress cadre — with the firm message that he would have to take everyone along.

Cut to May this year. With both Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar playing hardball and the leadership unable to decide on the chief minister even four days after the Congress registered an emphatic victory in Karnataka, Kharge subtly let it be known to both that the party could look at options beyond them. The message was firm and it had the desired impact. Within hours, the two agreed to the leadership’s formula — Siddaramaiah as CM and Shivakumar as the sole Deputy CM.

As he heads into the first anniversary of his term as Congress president on October 26, Kharge, 81 – the first non-Gandhi to helm the Congress in two-and-a-half decades – has shown that he has a mind of his own, can be firm and, at the same time, accommodating. He has emerged as a consensus builder in a party which is often chaotic. He has pushed the envelope on a couple of occasions, acquiesced to the wishes of the Gandhis at times and deferred to the collective wisdom at others.

The last non-Gandhi president of the Congress was Sitaram Kesri, and before him, P V Narasimha Rao.

A precedent president

Kharge’s situation is different from other non-Gandhi predecessors. The family was not in active politics when Rao and Kesri were presidents. Sonia largely operated from behind the scenes, from the time of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991 till 1998. Now, three members of the Gandhi family are in active politics. However, both past presidents themselves, Rahul and Sonia have gone out of their way to send a message to the leaders that Kharge should be given the respect due to a Congress president.

They know that even the small gestures matter. For instance, whenever Sonia or Rahul or the two together make a joint appearance with Kharge (be it at a party function or a visit to memorials), it is ensured that the latter reaches the venue last, in deference to the position he holds. And it is all well-coordinated. Invariably a message is relayed by Sonia’s office or Rahul’s team that they have left for the venue, and Kharge can leave five or 10 minutes later. And then they wait if needed for Kharge to arrive.

“Both Sonia and Rahul respect Kharge. In fact, Rahul’s affection is visible in his body language,” one leader said.

At the same time, Kharge’s term has not completely been tension free, and has involved some give and take. The re-constitution of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), for example, which saw intense pulls and pressures. “The list was revised 25 times,” said one leader in the know, in only a mild exaggeration.

The initial list did not have the names of some of the veterans — among them A K Antony, seen as virtually retired from politics. But Sonia was of the view that veterans such as Antony and Harish Rawat should be included, as elders should be given their due place and dropping them would be unkind. “Take a closer look at the list of CWC members. It has many stories to tell,” a senior leader said.

Rahul too wanted some changes. “While the perception is that Rahul has delinked himself from day-to-day affairs of the party, that he is not taking interest, but that is not entirely the case. He keeps track, there was some back and forth,” one leader said.

However, as another leader said: “It was not acrimonious… the exercise was amicable. The delay was because Kharge wanted to strike the right balance, keeping in mind the wishes of the family as well.”

Essentially, Kharge wanted a “lean and younger” looking CWC. Sources said leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Ramesh Chennithala and Syed Nasser Hussain were his choice, even though Tharoor had contested against him in the Congress presidential election. Rahul wanted the inclusion of Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister, besides others such as Meenakshi Natarajan and Girish Chodankar who are seen as members of his team.

Affairs of state

Among the biggest successes of Kharge has perhaps been the truce he managed to enforce in Rajasthan. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his rival Sachin Pilot, it is said, were not even talking to each other when they sat down with Kharge and Venugopal in May. “Gehlot said, what is there to talk about… From there to bringing about a reconciliation was a huge achievement,” one leader said.

“Kharge was clear. He told both Gehlot and Pilot that there is nothing wrong to have personal ambitions, but that the party was more important. Those remarks, coming from a person who himself lost the CM race thrice but did not rebel and continued to work for the party… it makes a lot of difference. He has that tact,” one leader said.

At the same time, Kharge has made it clear that he won’t be pressured into taking a decision. “You saw that in Himachal Pradesh. Even before the CLP met, Pratibha Singh (the state Congress president) gave some statement that the party cannot neglect Virbhadra Singh’s family because the election was fought on his work… Kharge told the observers to tell her that there is a process for selection of CM, and that she cannot be making such statements,” one leader in the know said.

The success in getting T S Singh Deo to accept the Deputy CM post in Chhattisgarh was also a surprise. “Kharge and Rahul had a talk before that. It is not clear whose idea it was, but clearly they were working together as there was a sense that the state unit could implode,” one leader said.

Organisationally, Kharge is now facing another challenge — the appointment of new office-bearers. “The list would be yet another reflection of the pulls and pressures. Many of those who are close to Rahul could be made in-charges. Jitendra Singh, who is now the general secretary in-charge of Assam, could be given an additional state,” one leader said.

The Priyanka question

The elephant in the room is said to be Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh. She is not keen to continue in that role.

“The list perhaps is held up as there is no clarity on her role. Giving a bigger organisational role and profile to Priyanka would dilute the raison d’etre behind the appointment of a non-Gandhi as the Congress president,” one leader said. As it is, Kharge has his hands tied when it comes to Uttar Pradesh. “He hasn’t touched UP. It is like a no-go area. For instance, the removal of Brijlal Khabri as UPCC president barely 10 months after his appointment was done at the behest of Priyanka’s team,” one leader said.

But if there is a way to be found, Kharge has shown that he can do it, if with consultation and consensus. He has held detailed meetings with leaders from state after state, driving home the need to get battle-ready for the Lok Sabha elections. Rahul has sat next to him in most of those meetings, stretching for hours. Leaders have been allowed to air their views freely, with Kharge only laying the condition that what transpired behind those closed doors should not reach the media.

Organisational matters aside, Kharge is also slowly developing good equations with Opposition figures as well as emerging as a good orator, using his speeches to attack the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi without mincing words. His “Ravan” and “poisonous snake” jibes at the Prime Minister may have triggered controversies, but he remains scathing. Nor did he flinch when son Priyank Kharge took the lead over attacking the BJP on the tricky Sanatan Dharma issue.

Many believe the Congress’s embrace of social justice politics full throttle now too has a Kharge imprint.

Team Kharge

Syed Naseer Hussain

From Karnataka’s Bellary, Hussain started his political career as a student activist of the SFI and was in 1999 president of JNU Students’ Union. However, he later joined the NSUI. Congress nominated Hussain to Rajya Sabha in 2018. Hussain was one of Kharge’s election managers when he contested for the post of party president last year. Kharge recently inducted Hussain as a member of the CWC.

Pranav Jha

From Jharkhand, Jha began his political career in the Youth Congress. A former AICC secretary in charge of media, in 2022, Jha became a member of the Madhusudan Mistry-led Central Election Authority, which oversaw the Congress presidential elections. He gives inputs for Kharge’s speeches.

Gurdeep Singh Sappal

Formerly OSD to former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and later CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Rajya Sabha TV, Sappal was appointed as one of the coordinators in Kharge’s office after the latter took over as Congress president. He was recently appointed the party’s nominee in the I.N.D.I.A. alliance’s campaign committee. He is now alo a permanent invitee of the CWC.

Gaurav Pandhi & Rachit Seth

He and Seth were among those who laid the groundwork for building the party’s social media department a decade ago. In Kharge’s office, while Pandhi takes care of his tour programmes, Seth, who was earlier associated with the party’s media and social media departments, takes care of the party president’s social media platforms.