Congress Presidential Polls highlights: PM Modi congratulates Mallikarjun Kharge for 'new responsibility' as INC prez

Congress's new president Mallikarjun Kharge will take over the grand old party on October 26. A non-Gandhi at the helm for the first time in 24 years, Kharge has a huge task ahead of him. The Shashi Tharoor camp has alleged "extremely serious irregularities in conduct of election in UP" and demanded "that all votes from UP be deemed invalid".

Kerala PCC chief praises manner in which Tharoor contested party prez poll

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran, who openly supported Mallikarjun Kharge for the post of party president, on Wednesday was full of praise for the manner in which Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor contested in the election.

Sudhakaran, while speaking to reporters said Tharoor contested by maintaining high democratic principles, committed no wrongs by words or action while campaigning for the post.

After Cong chief poll, focus now shifts to Gehlot-Pilot duel in Rajasthan

With the Congress having elected its new president, focus is now expected to shift to Rajasthan which has been witnessing long-running differences between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot on who gets to call the shots.Significantly, both Gehlot and his former deputy Pilot separately met Mallikarjun Kharge after he was elected as the president of the Congress, getting 7,897 votes against his rival Shashi Tharoor's 1,072.The tensions between Gehlot and Pilot seem to be simmering with the former earlier this week, saying that there is no substitute for experience at any level. Gehlot suggested that young leaders should have patience as they would get their chances when the time comes.

Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy greet Kharge on becoming Cong prez

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday congratulated veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on getting elected as the Congress president.

J'khand CM congratulates Kharge on being elected Cong president

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Wednesday congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected the Congress president.Jharkhand Congress Legislature Party leader and minister Alamgir Alam and state party president Rajesh Thakur called on Kharge at his Delhi residence to congratulate him.“My heartiest congratulations to Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji on his election as the INC India president. I wish him the very best in his journey," Soren said in a tweet.

Congress presidential polls energised cadre: 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.

Unless Congress rediscovers Nehru, it has no future: CPI leader Binoy Viswam

The Congress has no future unless it rediscovers its leader and first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, CPI MP Binoy Viswam said on Wednesday.He also claimed that neither of the Congress presidential poll candidates spoke about policy during their campaign but were "enjoying the festivity" around the election.Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor were in the electoral contest, with the former winning the poll to the party's top post.

PM Modi congratulates Kharge on election as prez

Kharge to take over from Oct 26

Congess president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge will formally take over from October 26."No one is big or small, all have to work together as karyakartas to strengthen Congress. We have to fight together against fascist forces who are attacking democracy and Constitution," he said.

Want to congratulate Tharoor, thank Sonia: Kharge

"I want to congratulate my partner Shashi Tharoor as well. I met him and discussed how to take the party forward. I want to thank Sonia Gandhi on behalf of all party workers. Under her leadership, we formed our government at the Centre twice,"Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Outgoing prez Sonia Gandhi congratulates Kharge

Congress will become stronger under Kharge's leadership: Kamal Nath

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and senior party leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on getting elected as the new Congress president.

Kharge defeated Shashi Tharoor in an electoral contest, the sixth in the party's 137-year-old history.

Congratulating Kharge, former MP chief minister Kamal Nath said, “I am sure that his vast experience will benefit the Congress organisation a lot and under his able leadership the party will not only scale new heights, it will also get strengthened further.”

New Congress president will decide my role: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that he will report to the new Congress president who will decide his role in the party.

He told reporters at Adoni during Bharat Jodo Yatra that the Congress president will be the final authority and he will decide how the party is going to move forward.

"He will decide what will be my role and how I am to be deployed," the Congress MP said before the announcement of the result of the AICC presidential election.

Digvijaya Singh congratulates Kharge on win

Will respond to Tharoor complaint; shouldn't have been given to press, says Mistry

Will respond to letter, shouldn't have been given to press; should have come to us,Madhusudan Mistry said regarding Shashi Tharoor team's complaint.

'Congress has been strengthened', says Tharoor as he visits Kharge to congratulate him

'A win of democracy', Sachin Pilot congratulates Kharge on win

Congress party briefing under way at AICC HQ after election results announced

Kharge a 'quintessential organisation man' who worked for the party, says Jairam Ramesh

Huge responsibility to be Cong president, wish Kharge 'success', says Tharoor

"It is great honour, huge responsibility to be president of Congress, I wish Mallikarjun Kharge all success in that task," Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor said after his loss to the veteran leader from Karnataka.

My thanks to Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for doing their own bit to support free and neutral Cong prez elections, says Shashi Tharoor

Kharge wins with 7,897 votes in Congress presidential election against Shashi Tharoor who got 1,072

Tharoor says the election meant to strengthen party, not divide it.

Subsequent discussions with the CEA have assured us of a fair inquiry. We have agreed for the counting to continue and our team looks forward to the results: Salman Anees Soz

unfortunate that a strictly internal letter to the CEA was leaked to the media, Tharoor tweets

Why is only Congress' internal election being questioned, asks Rahul Gandhi

Kharge heading towards impressive win in Congress presidential election

Tharoor whining like a sore loser, will be ridiculed for taking on Gandhis, says Amit Malviya

Electors in the Congress presidential polls had been asked to put a tick mark against their candidate in the ballot paper after Tharoor's team took up with the party's top poll body the issue of its earlier directive that voters write "1" to reflect their preference. This, the team said, might have led to confusion.

Asked about reports of complaints related to polling in Uttar Pradesh and some other states, Tharoor campaign team member Salman Soz said they have raised certain issues with the central election authority (CEA) and have been in communication with CEA chairman Madhusudan Mistry "before polling, on polling day and after that".

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.

Gaurav Gogoi hails historic Congress president polls

How does the Congress election take place?

The election to the post of Congress president is governened by Article XVIII of the Congress constitution.

The process involves the Block Congress Committees, which elect delegates to the Pradesh Congress Committes (PCC), who in turn elect delegates to the AICC. Delegates to the AICC include former PCC presidents who have held office for at least a year and continue to be members of the party.

After the process of nominations for the post of party president has concluded, the chairman of the party's Central Election Authority will publish the names of the candidates who will be in the fray.

Any 10 Congress delegates can propose the name of any delegate for the post, and those who do not withdraw their candidacy within seven days will be in the race for the post and their names will appear on the ballot. If only one candidate remains after withdrawal of nominations, the person shall be declared elected.

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In touch with Madhusudan Mistry's office on various issues, says Salman Soz

While Kharge is considered to have the support of the High Command and senior leaders, all eyes are on how many votes the Thiruvananthapuram MP will garner.Kharge and Tharoor have maintained that the fight is not personal and both are strengthening the party only. However, Tharoor has complained that some "big" leaders and office bearers disturbed the level-playing field for the Congress presidential election by welcoming Kharge on campaign trail while not doing it for him.

Interestingly, Sonia Gandhi is the longest-serving president of the party, having held the office for over twenty years from 1998 to 2017 and since 2019.

Congress's new president will be the first non-Gandhi president in over 20 years. Other non-Gandhis who held the party's top position include JB Kripalani (1947), Pattabhi Sitaramayya (1948-49), and Purushottam Das Tandon (1950) among others.

Explained | How the Congress's internal administration functions

The party carries out all its activities through two key committees: the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) and the Congress Working Committee (CWC). There are separate committees for elections that oversee party activities during the state and general elections.

What is the AICC?

The AICC is the supreme committee within the party headed by the Congress president. It has the power to frame rules, not inconsistent with the party's Constitution, so as to regularise party matters. Its discretion is binding on all other committees.

The committee looks after the implementation of the activities and programmes of the party and deals with issues and situations that arise during its term in office. The term of every Congress committee as well as its office-bearers and members is five years.

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The counting of votes for the Congress president poll begins.

Ahead of counting of votes, Tharoor camp alleges irregularities in polling in UP, Punjab and Telangana

Ahead of counting of votes for Congress president's election, Shashi Tharoor camp alleges irregularities in voting in UP. Some of the party leaders have complainedto the Central Election Authority alleging irregularities in voting in Punjab and Telangana too.

Around 9,500 or 96 per cent of 9,915 eligible Congress leaders and workers on Monday cast their vote to the elect a non-Gandhi as party chief for the first time in 24years, even as the scales were tilted heavily towards veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge against his younger rival Shashi Tharoor.

Among those who voted at various parts of the country included party chief Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and the two candidates among others.

What Kharge said on Shashi Tharoor's candidacy

"I welcome his candidature. We are not rivals but colleagues who believe in Congress ideology and our prime goal is to fight the BJP and RSS. I have entered the fray not to oppose anyone but to strengthen the party."

‘I won’t be remote-controlled. That happens in BJP-RSS, not Congress’

At 80, Mallikarjun Kharge has embarked on perhaps the most important battle of his life – this time, for the post of Congress president, the polling for which was conducted on Monday. For a leader who has lost just one electoral battle in nearly 60 years of his political life, this battle was considered an easy one, despite the fact that he was pushed into the fray only at the last minute, after Ashok Gehlot declined to contest, preferring to remain Rajasthan Chief Minister. Kharge spoke to DH’s Shemin Joy on what this election means for him and the party.

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By when will the result be declared?

The result is expected by evening. A total of 9,497 out of 9,915 delegates have cast their votes in Delhi and state headquarters. A special polling booth was set up in the Bharat Jodo Yatra camp in Karnataka’s to enable voters, including Rahul Gandhi, participating in the yatra to cast their votes.

All arrangements for the counting of votes have been made by the party’s Central Election Authority headed by Madhusudan Mistry. Ballot boxes from the states have reached the Congress headquarters and are kept at the strong room.On Wednesday morning, the sealed boxes will be opened in the presence of election agents of both the candidates. All the votes will be mixed and then the counting will start.

Kharge's challenges as the Congress president

In more than one way, 80-year-oldMallikarjun Khargewill prove lucky for Congress. Counting votes is on October 19, but it seems all but certain Kharge will be the new Congress president. His election as the party president could help bury the dynasty tag on the party. His election itself signals that the grand old party has ultimately put on the thinking cap to regain the lost primacy in the Indian polity.

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The counting of votes will begin at 10 am at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.

New Congress President will have to settle Rajasthan CM issue

The first challenge before the newly-elected Congress President would be to resolve the ongoing tussle in Rajasthan and settle the issue of Chief Minister.

Both Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot are asserting themselves - the former to retain the post and the latter to succeed him, but Pilot is silent and Gehlot is more vocal, unlike the Congress culture.

The results of the Congress President's election will be announced on Wednesday, and among the two contenders, Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, the former was the senior observer for Rajasthan when a section of MLAs engaged in virtual rebellion by boycotting the CLP meeting.

However, the Gandhis were upset with the revolt-like situation but Gehlot came and apologised to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and it was decided that the issue of leadership would be kept in abeyance till new President is elected.

DH Toon | Congress prez polls: 'Calm' before the storm

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Kharge or Tharoor? Congress set to have its next president today

Congress will have a new president, who will be a non-Gandhi for the first time in 24 years, by Wednesday evening with the party all set to count the votes for the presidential polls.

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