Page 49 - Mallikarjun Kharge

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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Kharge vs Tharoor: Voting begins for Congress party presidential polls

Voting began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor face-off for the post of AICC chief. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot. Voting began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here and at party's polling booths in state offices across the country. Veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram was the first to cast his vote at the AICC headquarters here, sources said. Kharge is considered the favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. During the campaign, even though Tharoor raised issues of uneven playing field, both candidates and the party have maintained that the Gandhis are neutral and that there is no "official candidate". While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the AI

Will have no shame in taking advice, support of Gandhi family: Kharge

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said the Gandhi family has struggled to strengthen the party, and he would have no shame in taking their advice and support in case he is elected party president. Kharge, considered close to the Gandhis, joined Rahul Gandhi in Bellary on Saturday for the Bharat Jodo Yatra and later addressed a public meeting there. The veteran leader said he is the "delegates' candidate" in this polls to the party's highest post, scheduled for October 17. Responding to a question about talk that he would be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family, Kharge said, "They say such things as there is nothing else to tell. The BJP indulges in such a campaign and others follow it. Sonia Gandhi has worked for 20 years in the organisation...Rahul Gandhi was also president...they have struggled for the party and put their strength for its growth." Congress delegates will vote on Monday to elect their party president. Kharge, who is up against party leader Shas

Kharge vs Tharoor on Monday as Cong set for non-Gandhi prez after 24 years

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor will face-off in an electoral contest on Monday for the post of AICC chief, as the party gets set to have a non-Gandhi president in over 24 years. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot. Voting would also take place at the AICC headquarters here and at over 65 polling booths across the country in an electoral contest which is taking place for the sixth time in the party's 137-year history. While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the AICC headquarters here, Rahul Gandhi will be voting at the Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Karnataka's Sanganakallu in Ballari along with around 40 other Bharat Yatris who are PCC delegates. Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as t

Tharoor's 'netagiri' jibe at Kharge camp on eve of Congress president polls

Congress presidential poll candidate Shashi Tharoor on Sunday took a veiled dig at the Kharge camp saying some colleagues were "indulging in 'netagiri' and telling party workers" that they know whom Sonia Gandhi wants elected. If anyone has "fear or doubt" in their mind, the party has made it clear that it will be a secret ballot, he said and urged the Congress delegates to listen to their hearts while voting to elect the new party president. "I also asked Sonia Gandhi how she views the elections. She said that it is very good for the party, and you fight with full courage ('himmat'), and we will stay neutral. She had said that there will be no official candidate from their side," Tharoor told reporters at the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who is contesting against veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the Monday election, emphasised on "decentralisation" in the organisation so that "'all decisions are not taken in Delhi. He said that there should b

As Cong prez poll nears climax, focus to shift on Gehlot-Pilot duel in Raj

After the fate of the electoral fight for the post of the next Congress president between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor gets sealed on Monday, focus will shift to long-running rivalry between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot for who gets to call the shots in the largely desert state. Late last month, the matter had come to a head after 82 Congress MLAs in Rajasthan did not attend an official legislature party meeting convened for passing a resolution authorising the Congress chief to appoint a successor to Gehlot, who was then about to contest the Congress presidential election, and participated in a parallel meeting at Gehlot loyalist Shanti Dhariwal's residence in Jaipur. While Gehlot has long been known as a loyalist to the first family of the country's oldest party, his position as the Gandhis' confidant is said to have been dented with the developments last month. Pilot, who had rebelled against Gehlot's leadership in 2020, is seen a

Congress youngsters with me, seniors backing Kharge: Shashi Tharoor

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Saturday claimed that youngsters and people in lower levels of the party are supporting him, while seniors are backing his rival Mallikarjun Kharge. He also asserted that no Congress president can function keeping a distance from the Gandhi family as their DNA runs through the party's blood. "I am getting support from the young voters. I am getting good feedback from the lower levels. The seniors are going with Kharge. We have been talking about change and older people resist it," Tharoor told a press conference as part of his campaign trail here. While conceding that many party office bearers have been campaigning for his rival candidate openly, he pointed out that the election will be held through secret ballots and weightage of the vote of a senior leader and a lower rank member is the same. It would be foolish on the part of any Congress president to distance himself from the Gandhis as the Gandhi family is popular and their DNA

LIVE: Congress only party that wants everyone included, says Tharoor

LIVE news updates: Doesn't matter if Kharge Sahab wins or I win - Congress should win as it's a party of inclusive India, said Shashi Tharoor

Kharge taunts Tharoor, says he will implement only Udaipur declaration

Taking a swipe at his contender, Shashi Tharoor, in the AICC presidential poll, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said here on Friday that he has no separate manifesto but only a single-point agenda to implement the party's Udaipur declaration. Tacitly referring to the Thiruvananthapuram MP Sashi Tharoor, who threw down the gauntlet at him in the race for the top position in the party, Kharge said, "I don't have any manifesto like others. I have only one manifesto that is the Congress manifesto. That is the Udaipur declaration made 4 months ago will be implemented if I am elected." Earlier this month while launching his election campaign for Tamil Nadu at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress State headquarters, Tharoor released his manifesto and said his message was to revive the party, re-energise it, empower workers, decentralise authority and be in touch with the people. "This, I believe, will make Congress politically fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the

The Congress president's election: All you need to know about its history

As Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor battle it out, here is a concise history of the Congress party's presidency

Gehlot hopes for Mallikarjun Kharge's win in Congress presidential race

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has expressed hope that voters in the elections to the post of the Congress president will vote for senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who he said has a connect with party leaders and workers. The voting for the post of the Congress president is scheduled for October 17 and the counting will take place on October 19. Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are contesting for the post. Kharge has a connection with party workers and leaders, and can hold dialogue with all opposition parties, which is needed today, Gehlot said in a video message on his Twitter account. "I hope all delegates will help Mallikarjun Kharge succeed with a huge majority," he said. Gehlot also added that the Congress will revive and emerge as a strong opposition party. He said Kharge is the party's experienced leader, who won nine assembly elections and two Lok Sabha polls, and was the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya sabha.

Some leaders openly supporting Kharge disturbs level-playing field: Tharoor

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Thursday lamented that some leaders had openly come out in support of his poll opponent Mallikarjun Kharge and even summoned meetings in his favour, saying it disturbed the level-playing field. The Thiruvananthapuram MP also said several PCC chiefs and senior leaders were not available for a meeting with him during his visits to their respective states, but they warmed up to Kharge when he visited them seeking support. Seeking votes from delegates at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) here, Tharoor said he wanted to bring a "change" in the organisation. He also said aimed to "bring back" the voters who did not support the Congress in the 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "I want to bring a change in the party. I want to bring back those voters who didn't stand by our side in 2014 and 2019," he told the delegates. Tharoor further rued that he could not meet some delegates as their contact details were "missing" from the li

Cong president poll: Kharge to visit Bhopal today, Tharoor on Oct 14

Veteran Congress leader and party's presidential poll candidate Mallikarjun Kharge will visit the state capital today as part of his campaign for the October 17 election

After Gandhis refused to fight Prez poll, decided to enter fray: Kharge

Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said he decided to enter the fray for the top post after members of the Gandhi family refused to contest the poll and he wanted to strengthen the party. The electoral contest would take place between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, and voting will take place on October 17 in every state capital through secret ballot. "After the Gandhi family refused to contest the election for the post of Congress president, I decided to contest this election after consulting my well-wishers," said Kharge, who was here to meet members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC). "I decided to contest the election to strengthen the Congress and to save its ideology," Kharge said, adding he was meeting more than 9,000 members of his party across the country and seeking their support. He said that he has prepared his manifesto by incorporating the announcements made at the party's Udaipur Chintan Shivir. "Fifty per cent posts in the organisa

Will give 50% tickets to youth to contest polls: Cong prez candidate Kharge

Congress party's presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge said he will give 50 per cent tickets to youth to contest elections if he becomes the chief of the party

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Kharge promises 'collective decisions' if he becomes Congress President

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the key contestant for the post of the party President, promised that he will give more stress on "collective decisions" in the party if he is elected