A missed opportunity: Congress votes for status quo

At a time when identity politics dominates Indian political contests like never before, the foregone conclusion of Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge’s election as Congress president checks the right boxes. As a Dalit and Buddhist with a long career in the Karnataka Assembly and the Centre, and briefly as leader of the Opposition in Parliament, he appears to have — on paper — the requisite political experience to lead the Grand Old Party against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) juggernaut. Yet Mr Kharge’s victory, securing 7,897 votes to challenger Shashi Tharoor’s 1,072 votes, comes freighted with extremely low expectations. As the favoured