Mallikarjun Kharge, who is in the running for Congress party president, on Friday, said that though he was not interested in contesting the election, he agreed after being pressured by well-wishers.
“I was not interested in contesting presidential polls. Since my well-wishers have pressurised me, I have decided to fight,” he said.
He was, however, confident about winning, as he said, “I will never be a rubber stamp president,” but added that he would consult the Gandhi family before taking any major decision for the party.
Insisting that without the Gandhi family nobody can do politics in Congress, Kharge said, “I never feel insulted if any members of Gandhi family influenced me while taking decisions on the party affairs.”
Refuting the criticism that the Gandhis would remain a power centre in the party, the senior Congress leader said: “What is wrong if the party leaders in future met the Gandhi family? Our party runs on democratic principles and we will discuss with everybody.”
“I believe in collective leadership. I will take suggestions from all. One person can’t do everything. After the victory, my first priority was to implement the resolution passed in the party’s Udaipur conclave,” he said.
“Several party leaders met me and expressed their support. However, I never told them not to vote for my rival candidate Shashi Tharoor,” he said.