The seasoned Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge was chosen to lead India’s Congress party. The senior Congressman easily defeated diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor to become the first non-Gandhi to hold this position in 25 years. Kharge received 7,897 of the 9,385 total votes. Many were still shocked by Tharoor’s victory of 1,072 votes. 416 votes total were ruled invalid.
Kharge has received Tharoor’s full backing, with the Congressman claiming that the process of resurrection of Congress has truly begun.
The Congress party is hoping that the election of a new Congress President who is not a member of the Gandhi family would fend off accusations from political rivals that the Gandhis have a tight grip on the party.
When outgoing President Sonia Gandhi, who had led the party for 22 years, and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Kharge’s home to congratulate him following his victory, it was clear that the Gandhis were behind him 100 percent. Rahul Gandhi praised Kharge for his experience and ideological dedication as well as his democratic vision as he congratulated him. Rahul Gandhi is currently leading a nationwide long march called the Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is currently in power in India, as well as the Sangh Parivar, a confederation of right-wing Hindu organizations, have come under harsh criticism from Kharge.
The 137-year-old Congress party’s top position is now held by grassroots politician Kharge, who is 80 years old. Kharge started out as a trade union leader. He was the first member of his family to attend college and earn a legal degree. He was the son of a meager mill worker.
Between 1972 and 2008, Kharge was elected to the Karnataka State Assembly nine times in a row. He has a history of winning elections. After that, he was chosen as a member of parliament in 2009 and again in 2014, serving as a minister in the administration of the former prime minister Manmohan Singh.
He did not win the 2019 elections, but in 2020 he was elected to the upper house of Parliament once more.
Following his election as the leader of the Congress party, the BJP attacked Kharge by claiming that the Gandhis will have remote control over him. Rahul responded that he will report to the new President when asked about his future role with a new Congress leader in charge. He continued, “The future President will choose my role”.
Kharge faces significant obstacles in his role as party leader.
In the general elections of 2019, the Congress party slightly raised its total to 53 seats after winning only 44 seats in the 2014 election, when it was ousted by the BJP. While the BJP’s vote percentage is a staggering 37.5 percent, the Congress vote share has been progressively dropping and is presently at only 19.5%. The BJP has a vote share of approximately 45% when combined with its allies.
The Congress will need to concentrate on winning back its constituency. The time available to Kharge is limited. There will be general elections in another 18 months.
Only two states, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, now have Congress running the state governments. The party will need to triumph in a number of future assembly elections if it wants to have even a remote chance in 2024.
In the 18 months leading up to the general election, there will be elections in close to a dozen states. Election victories for the Congress are likely in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
To properly combat the BJP, Kharge must build state Congress organizations and reduce factionalism as a party leader.
The BJP’s unwavering concentration on winning elections and constant readiness for war is something the Congress might need to learn from. It can’t reject its secular ideological worldview.
News Mania Desk
