Kharge kickstarts Congress chief poll campaign in Gujarat; says ‘compelled by Gandhi family members’

Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, on Friday, kicked off his campaign to be elected as party’s national president after visiting Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and meeting party delegates for their support.

Kharge said he was in the fray to carry forward the “ideology of the Congress and its principles which are based on ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.”

Addressing reporters after meeting with party leaders at Rajiv Bhawan, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters, Kharge said: “I am not contesting this on my own. I was compelled to do that after Sonia Gandhi and other members of Gandhi family—Rahul and Priyanka—refused. I am doing it to carry forward party ideology.”

Read | I believe in consultative and collective leadership: Kharge

He added that his meeting with delegates and Congress leaders was “well attended” who assured him of support.

The contest for the post of party president witnessed some high drama when Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, once considered party high command’s top choice, dropped out of the race after his MLAs staged a rebellion of sorts when Sachin Pilot was suggested as Gehlot’s successor to lead Rajasthan. The 80-year-old Kharge will face party’s popular leader Shashi Tharoor in the election.

Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party, Kharge responded to the query about continuing to report to Sonia Gandhi if elected, saying: “There is no remote control in Congress. Unlike the BJP where party president is decided by a couple of people. Congress follows democratic process as we take a decision together.”

However, the veteran leader was tight-lipped about his strategy to build a party consensus. “How can I say anything to anyone? I am doing what my leaders told me to do,” he said.