Shashi Tharoor vs Mallikarjun Kharge: How Congress will pick its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years

It’s a big day for Congress. The Grand Old Party is all set to pick a non-Gandhi president in more than 24 years, as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are up against each other in an internal election.

The voting will take place at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office headquarters in Delhi and 65 polling booths across the country between 10 am and 4 pm and the results will be declared on 19 October.

Congress Party to vote today to elect its next president. Senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are in the fray.

The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place in Delhi on October 19.

Visuals from AICC Headquarters, Delhi pic.twitter.com/bPwfdv1kZ0

— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2022

More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates – MPs, MLAs, office bearers and part members – will cast their ballots. A special booth has been set up in Karnataka for participants of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, including former chief Rahul Gandhi, to cast their votes. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. The two contenders, Kharge and Tharoor, will be casting their ballots in their respective states of Karnataka and Kerala.

We take a look at the election process and what we can expect from it.

How is the Congress president elected?

The Congress constitution defines INC delegates as “all members of the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC)”. According to News18, there is a delegate per block in each state. The blocks, which are notified by the government, in all the states have different numbers of PCC delegates.

The INC delegates elect the Congress president from the nominees. As per Article XVIII of the Congress constitution, “any ten delegates may jointly propose the name of any delegate for election as president of the Congress.”

The chairman of the Central Election Authority (CEA) is the ex-Officio Returning Officer for the presidential election, who publishes the names of all candidates for the party chief post.

The counting of votes is done by the Returning Officer. The candidate with more than 50 per cent of the votes becomes the Congress president.

Are there EVMs?

No, there are no Electronic Voting Machines but a ballot paper. The party’s CEA head Madhusudan Mistry elaborated on the voting process, giving a mock demonstration of the ballot papers and boxes that would be used for the election.

The election will be held through a secret ballot system to ensure that every delegate’s choice of candidate is protected and that both contestants have a level-playing field, Mistry said last week.

“The delegates from all states will vote at their respective polling stations with a ‘tick’ mark for the candidate they support. Arrangements have been made for smooth polling,” Mistry told news agency ANI.

Earlier, the process involved writing “1” against the preferred candidate’s name. However, that has now been changed.

Breaking News: the @incIndia Election Authority has changed the requirement for a vote from writing “1” against the preferred candidate’s name to a ✅ tick mark. Delegates please note — a tick mark is needed in the box next to my name! pic.twitter.com/IVy8AbGsMt

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 16, 2022

How will delegates vote?

For the first time, all delegates have been issued voter ID cards with QR codes. The cards display their photographs, names, enrollment numbers and other relevant details.

The ballot papers have two parts – the top half mentioning the names of the candidates against whom votes have to be cast and the other half a counterfoil on which each delegate has to fill in details such as name, concerned Pradesh Congress unit, voter enrollment number and signature. The counterfoil will need to be filled by the delegate before marking the preference of the candidate. The returning officer concerned will then tear off the counterfoil for official records and return the ballot paper to the delegate, who will then cast her/his vote, according to a report in The Federal.

How will the votes be counted?

After the voting is over, the ballot boxes will be sealed by the returning officers and polling agents of the two candidates will sign off on the seal. They will be then transported to Delhi by returning by flight on Tuesday and kept in a strong room at the party headquarters at 24, Akbar Road.

Before the boxes are opened for counting on 19 October, polling agents of the candidates can inspect them to check for any tampering. The ballot papers will then be mixed so that the state-wise tally of votes cast in favour of the candidates remains a secret.

The counting of votes is expected to conclude by noon on 19 October and the results will be declared by Mistry as he is the chairperson of the CEA.

Who is likely to win?

While the Gandhis have said they will be “neutral”, their preferred choice for the Congress chief’s post in Kharge.

Polling for election of new #Congress President to be held today. Party leaders #ShashiTharoor and #MallikarjunKharge are in fray for top Congress post.

Electors in Congress presidential polls asked to put tick mark against name of their choice on ballot paper. pic.twitter.com/X7iNm0Yoth

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) October 17, 2022

Tharoor, who is part of the dissenting G-23 group, has said spoken openly about “an uneven playing field”. He has claimed there are inconsistencies in the voter lists and alleged that several party office bearers, including some chiefs of Congress’ state units, have ignored election guidelines and backed Kharge over him.

On Saturday, Tharoor claimed that the youngsters and those in the lower rung of Congress have backed him while seniors are rallying behind 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.

Ahead of the election on Monday, Kharge said, “I don’t want to get into any controversy. He (Tharoor) is saying his thoughts, I don’t want to debate his thoughts. I’m sharing my thoughts. It is our organisation or a family matter. He has the right to say what he wants to, similarly I too have. It is an internal friendly fight.”

According to News18, he also dismissed claims that it will be a rigged election, with many senior leaders and delegates openly supporting him. “I’m contacting election delegates, my campaign managers are organising…I’m a candidate of delegates, senior leaders and delegates have sponsored me,” he added.

With inputs from agencies

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