Congress votes; Sonia Gandhi says was waiting for this day for long

Former PM Manmohan Singh prepares to cast his vote for Congress party’s Presidential electio in Delhi. (Source: Congress)

“I have been waiting for a long time for this day,” a visibly happy Sonia told reporters as she walked in with daughter and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to cast their votes at the 24, Akbar Road AICC headquarters. Some 70-odd delegates – which will include many CWC members and AICC office bearers will cast their vote at the AICC headquarters.

Singh was among the voters in the immediate hours after polling started at 10 AM. The first voter at the AICC headquarters was former union minister and CWC member P Chidambaram. Jairam Ramesh was the second. In state capitals across the country, delegates turned up to cast their votes.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi casts his vote for the party’s presidential election, in Bellary. (Source: Congress)

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot cast his vote at the party headquarters in Jaipur, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel at the PCC office in Raipur and G 23 leader Manish Tewari at the Punjab PCC office in Chandigarh. Tharoor rang up Kharge to wish him minutes before the voting began.

“Spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge this morning to wish him well & to reaffirm my respect for him & our shared devotion to the success of the Congress,” Tharoor tweeted. “My best wishes to Shashi Tharoor. Spoke to him earlier today, both of us are contesting to strengthen the Congress to build a stronger & better nation for the future generations,” Kharge replied.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at AICC headquarters in New Delhi to cast her vote for the party’s Presidential election. (Source: Congress)

The Congress is witnessing an election to the post of the party president after 22 years. With no member from the Gandhi family in the fray, the party will have a leader outside the family as president after nearly two-and-a-half decades. The last non-Gandhi Congress president was Sitaram Kesri, from whom Sonia Gandhi took over in March 1998.

The last contest was in 2000 when Jitendra Prasada faced off with Sonia Gandhi, two years into her presidency. She handed over the mantle to Rahul Gandhi in 2017 but he stepped down in 2019, two years after he won the election unopposed, in the wake of the party’s humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.