Congress president polls: Mallikarjun Kharge wins, becomes first non-Gandhi chief in 24 years

New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday won the party presidential elections with 7,897 votes, becoming the first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.

His rival Congress MP Shashi Tharoor could manage just about 1,000 votes while as many as 416 votes were deemed invalid.

#CongressPresidentElection | Mallikarjun Kharge wins the Congress presidential elections with 7897 votes, Shashi Tharoor got about 1000 votes; 416 votes rejected

(File photo) pic.twitter.com/fyBtRF9Tex

— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2022

Immediately after the results were announced, Tharoor issued a statement conceding defeat and congratulated Congress president-elect Kharge.

“I believe the revival of our party has truly begun today,” said Tharoor in a two-page statement.

Congress Presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor issues a statement congratulating Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge; says “I believe the revival of our party has truly begun today.” pic.twitter.com/tNnqti8CIT

— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2022

“The decision of the party delegates is final and I accept it humbly. It is a privilege to be a member of a party that allows its workers to choose their president,” Tharoor said.

“Our new president is a party colleague and a senior who brings ample leadership and experience to the table. Under his guidance, I am confident that we can collectively take the party to new heights,” he added.

Tharoor said that the party owes irredeemable debt to the outgoing president Sonia Gandhi for he quarter-century leadership of the party and for being an anchor during the most crucial moments.

“Her decision to authorise this election process, which has given us new pathways to the future, is undoubtedly a fitting testament to her sagacity and vision for our party. I hope she continues to guide, motivate and inspire the party’s new leadership team in overcoming the challenges ahead,” Tharoor said.

He also thanked former president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for doing their own bit to support free and neutral elections.

“The Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the hearts of Congress party members and with good reason too,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Tharoor’s team had written to the party’s chief election authority, flagging “extremely serious irregularities” in the conduct of the election in Uttar Pradesh and demanded that all votes from the state be deemed invalid, according to sources.

Tharoor’s campaign team has also raised “serious issues” in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.

In his letter to Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s chief election agent Salman Soz has said the facts are “damning” and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is “devoid of credibility and integrity”, they said.

Soz conveyed to Mistry that what has been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh is an open challenge to the authority of “your office” as well as contempt for the orders of the Congress president and the Congress Working Committee to hold free and fair elections.

“We would like to underline that we have no evidence that Mallikarjun Kharge ji was aware of how his supporters were engaging in electoral malpractice in Uttar Pradesh. We are certain that if he was aware, he would never allow what happened in Uttar Pradesh,” Soz said in his letter, according to sources.

“He (Kharge) would not allow the tainting of an election that is so important for the Indian National Congress,” Soz was quoted as saying in the letter.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.