Page 49 - Mallikarjun Kharge

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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A large sea of people chant 'Netaji amar rahein' as a vehicle carriedthe mortal remains of Samajwadi Party supremo

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

Contest with Tharoor is for betterment of country and Congress: Kharge

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said his contest with Shashi Tharoor for the post of party president was aimed at putting forth their viewpoints for the betterment of the country and the party. Kharge said this during an interaction with party delegates at Congress office here, where he sought their support for the AICC presidential election. This is an internal election. It is like two brothers at home, who are not fighting, but placing their points of view and trying to persuade each other, he said. The Congress party veteran said the election campaign was not about what a particular candidate will do if he becomes the president of the party, but what they can do together. My belief is... What I will do is not the question. The question is what we both will do together for the country and for the party, this is important. Let us not talk about whether I will do this or that, or talk about someone else. How will you (party workers) and me together make the party ...

Contesting Congress prez poll as no Gandhi member running for post: Kharge

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday expressed regret that none from the Gandhi family was running for the party chief's post and said he took the plunge on advice of all in the party. As part of his campaign for the AICC presidential post, Kharge visited the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in Vijayawada. Kharge said he played a long innings in Karnataka politics and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 on the advice of current party president Sonia Gandhi. "Election for the Congress president's post became inevitable as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka refused to take it up. So I have jumped into the fray for the president's post on the advice of all in the party," Kharge told reporters after addressing the AP Congress leaders. "I served as Union Labour and Social Justice minister," he said and also mentioned his tenure as Congress party leader in Lok Sabha. Kharge said he would implement the Udaipur Declaration of offering 50 per cent of p

Both poll contenders people of stature, neither can be controlled: Rahul

As Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor fight it out for the Congress chief's post, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described both as people of stature and understanding, and asserted that it was insulting to suggest that either of them can be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family as party president. Addressing a press conference here during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said lakhs of people have joined the yatra as they are tired of the type of politics being done under the BJP and the prevailing unemployment, price rise and economic inequality. A day after Gautam Adani pledged huge investments in Rajasthan, Gandhi, who has often accused the Modi government of favouring the industrialist, said the Congress government in the state has not given any preferential treatment to the businessman, and asserted that he is not against corporates but monopolies. Asked about criticism from certain quarters that the next Congress president could be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family, the former part

Will implement Udaipur Declaration if I win, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Amid suggestions that Congress should be led by a young leader, AICC presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he would implement the Udaipur Declaration's proposal of offering 50 per cent of party posts to those below 50 years of age if he wins the poll. "It's not for post in Congress. Many people who left, they left due to fear of ED, CBI, and income tax. For youngsters, as I said, in the Udaipur Declaration, we promised to give 50 per cent of seats to those below 50 years and I will do. When everyone is wanting to make me occupy this place, I thank them," he told reporters here. He was replying to a query about the argument that 80-year-old Kharge is replacing Sonia Gandhi, who is 75 years old, and that a young leader should lead the Congress. Kharge was in Hyderabad as part of his campaign for the AICC president's post. Asked about the ruling TRS in Telangana renaming itself as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and deciding to go national, he said several regional