Page 48 - Mallikarjun Kharge

Best of BS Opinion: Pricing pressure, Congress votes for status quo, & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

A missed opportunity: Congress votes for status quo

Mallikarjun Kharge's election as party president points to the continuation of Gandhi family hegemony with all its opacity and confusions ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down as president in 2019

Mallikarjun Kharge faces multiple challenges in new role as Congress chief

He is the first non-Gandhi president of the party in more than 20 years

Will Kharge be a rubber stamp or a connect between party and family?

Kharge began life as a trade union lawyer and knows what it is to struggle

Shashi Tharoor: Lost Cong prez poll but not before making himself heard

He lost the election but Shashi Tharoor managed to score many a political point during his campaign for Congress president, a contest he lost to veteran party colleague Mallikarjun Kharge who was favoured to win. The author, wordsmith, former UN diplomat and social media pioneer with 8.3 million followers on Twitter demonstrated during the last few weeks that he is quite the opposite of a quockerwodger', a politically loaded term for a wooden puppet he introduced into our lexicon, and is instead independent minded, making moves on his own terms. Tharoor's loss is reminiscent of his electoral run in the 2006 UN secretary general poll in which he was defeated by South Korea's Ban Ki-moon but not before creating a strong buzz. It was in that contest perhaps that he first displayed his stomach for an electoral fight against daunting odds. That the often outspoken Tharoor managed 1,072 votes against perceived Gandhi favourite Kharge's 7,897 in the presidential election, only the sixth i

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Congress presidential polls energised cadre to face BJP: Shashi Tharoor

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. "This is not an issue about an individual. I only wish that the party is strengthened. For a stronger India, you need a stronger Congress," he said. Tharoor expressed hope Kharge will implement the provisions of the Congress constitution that mandates election to the Congress Working Committee.

We have to fight together against fascist forces: Kharge urges Cong workers

Congress president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said no one in the party is big or small and he will work as a true Congress soldier to strengthen the organisation. Addressing a press conference soon after he was declared elected as the party's president, Kharge said for him every Congress worker is equal and all have to work together to fight the fascists forces threatening democracy and the Constitution. No one is big or small and all have to work together as karyakartas to strengthen the Congress, he said. "We have to together fight the threat to democracy and the Constitution," Kharge said. He will formally take over as the party's president on October 26.

Sonia Gandhi visits Kharge, congratulates him on winning Cong prez poll

Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday visited veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge's residence and congratulated him on winning the party presidential poll with a huge margin

Shashi Tharoor calls on Mallikarjun Kharge after Cong prez poll results

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called on party president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge after losing to him in the battle for the top post, and offered his full cooperation going forward. Kharge was on Wednesday elected the Congress president after defeating Tharoor in the electoral contest, the sixth in the party's 137-year-old history. Kharge got 7,897 votes and Shashi Tharoor 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid. "Called on our new President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge to congratulate him & offer him my full co-operation. Congress has been strengthened by our contest," Tharoor tweeted along with pictures of his meeting with Kharge. In one of the pictures, he held Kharge's arm aloft with Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also in the photograph.

Revival of Congress has truly begun today: Tharoor after conceding defeat

As Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress president poll, his electoral rival Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the "democratic contest" has galvanised vibrancy at all levels and has prompted a healthy and constructive discussion on change, which will serve the party in good stead in the future. Tharoor also claimed that the Congress' revival has begun. In a statement, Tharoor said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the hearts of Congress party members. "It is my hope and belief that the family will remain the foundational pillar of the Congress, our moral conscience and ultimate guiding spirit. In particular, the spectacular success of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra is a testament to the family's enduring appeal to the masses," said the MP from Kerala who got 1,072 votes against Kharge's 7,897. He said that in a true celebration of inner-party democracy, over 9,500 delegates of the Congress cast their vote in the elections for the post of party .

Cong chief-elect Kharge represents a 'democratic vision' of India: Rahul

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected as the new party chief and said he represents a "democratic vision" of India. "Congratulations to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected as the President of Congress. "The Congress President represents a democratic vision of India. His vast experience and ideological commitment will serve the party well as he takes on this historic responsibility," Gandhi said on Twitter. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also congratulated Kharge and said his vast experience will help strengthen the party. "I am confident that your ground experience in political life will help strengthen the ideology of the Congress," she said in a tweet in Hindi. "Under your leadership, the Congress will continue to fight to protect the Constitution and democracy," she added. Vadra visited Kharge's residence along with outgoing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to congratulate him. Kharge's wife was a

Mallikarjun Kharge becomes first non-Gandhi Congress President in 24 years

Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years. The 80-year-old leader succeeds Sonia Gandhi at the grand old party's highest office. Kharge defeated Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor in the October 17 Congress' Presidential polls, which saw over 9,500 delegates across the country voting. A leader with more than 50 years of experience in politics, he is also the second AICC President from Karnataka after S Nijalingappa and also second Dalit leader after Jagjivan Ram to hold the post. Kharge was elected MLA for nine times in a row, seeing a steady rise in his career graph from humble beginnings as a union leader in his home district of Gulbarga (renamed as Kalaburagi). He joined the party in 1969 and went on to become President of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee. That Kharge was unconquerable at the hustings was mirrored until 2014 Lok Sabha polls in which h

Acharya Kripalani to Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress presidents since 1947

The Indian National Congress was formed by British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume in 1885. Take a look at the presidents the grand old party has seen since Independence >

Meet Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress party's new President

Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress presidential elections by landslide margin over Shashi Tharoor. Kharge got 7,897 votes while Tharoor got 1,072 votes. 416 votes were invalid.

Kharge vs Tharoor: Counting of votes begins for Congress Presidential polls

Counting of votes began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls in which senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of AICC chief. The counting of the votes cast on Monday began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here. All sealed ballot boxes from the 68 polling booths set up across the country had been brought here by Tuesday evening and kept in a "strong room" at the party office. The counting agents of Kharge are Pramod Tiwari, Kodikunil Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kuljit Singh Bagra and Gurdeep Singh Sappal. Karti Chidambaram, Atul Chaturvedi and Sumedh Gaikwal are among those who are counting agents of Tharoor. While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry has expressed satisfaction with the party's presidential pol

Congress to get first non-Gandhi president in 24 years today

The Congress will get its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years on Wednesday after more than 9,500 votes cast to choose between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are counted to cap the election contest, the sixth in its 137-year-old history. The counting of the votes cast on Monday will begin at 10 am on Wednesday at the AICC headquarters here. While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. The process of bringing all the ballot boxes from the 68 polling booths set up across the country by the party will be completed by Tuesday. The sealed boxes will be kept in a "strong room" at the party headquarter. The sealed ballot boxes will be opened before the candidates' agents and the votes will be mixed repeatedly as they are added from various boxes. Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry has ...

96% turnout in Congress presidential polls, all eyes on Oct 19 results

More than 9,500 Congress delegates across the country on Monday voted to elect the party's first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, choosing between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor as successor to Sonia Gandhi. Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at all PCC offices and the AICC headquarters in Delhi, party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry announced here. The results of election will be declared on October 19, after ballots from all PCC offices reach Delhi and the votes polled are mixed before counting. "I have been waiting for a long time for this day," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi told reporters after voting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here. Sonia Gandhi, who had been the party president from 1998 to 2017, was made interim president after Rahul Gandhi resigned in 2019 over the party'

Delegates choose between Kharge and Tharoor for Congress president

Congress members queued up across the country on Monday to elect their first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, choosing between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor in an exercise aimed at putting the party on the path to revival. "I have been waiting for a long time for this day," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi told reporters after voting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot. The results will be declared on October 19. Voting in the much discussed elections began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters and at polling booths in PCC offices across the country. Satisfied with Congress' presidential poll process. Elections are free, fair, transparent, said Madhusudan Mistry, the central election authority chairperson. Voting is going on smoothly. There are no complaints so far on polling from anywhere, Mistry told PTI. While Soni

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