A New Congress President From Outside The Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty Is Chosen By A Vote Of More Than 9,500 Delegates
Sonia Gandhi, the departing Congress president, stated that she had been waiting for this day for a very long time as 9,500 Congress delegates from all over the country cast their votes on October 17 to select between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor as their next party leader.
For the first time in the previous 24 years, no Gandhi family member is running for the leadership position of the Congress party. Mr. Kharge is viewed as the establishment candidate because of his close ties to the Gandhi family, whilst Mr. Tharoor ran as the candidate for change.
The Gandhi family would continue to play a significant role in the future, according to several top leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, and Mukul Wasnik.
Ms. Gandhi leads the Congress Parliamentary Party in addition to serving as the interim president of the Congress (CPP).
In addition to Ms. Gandhi, others who cast ballots at the voting booth at the AICC office included Mr. Chidambaram, Ms. Singh, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Rahul Gandhi, a former party leader, is one of the 50 delegates taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra right now. At Ballari in Karnataka, they cast ballots in a special booth built inside a shipping container.
In total, 36 polling places were used nationwide to hold the sixth presidential election in the roughly 137-year history of Congress. Voting took place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 17, but results won’t be announced until October 19.
Madhusudan Mistry, the chairman of the party’s central election office, told reporters that 96% of the 9,915 delegates or voters for the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) had cast ballots. He claimed that the Congress’ internal party democracy may serve as a model for other political parties.
Both Mr. Kharge and Mr. Tharoor tweeted that they had spoken to one another and wished each other well before voting began.
In May 2019, Mr. Gandhi resigned as the party’s leader, taking moral responsibility for the failure of the party in the Lok Sabha election. Even though Ms. Sonia Gandhi was named the party’s temporary president in August of that year, the G-23 group of up to 23 leaders who demanded internal reforms and clear leadership caused a political tempest.
Even though Mr. Kharge was chosen by the G-23 leaders as their candidate in these elections, one of their main demands—an elected Congress Working Committee (CWC)—has not yet been met.
News Mania Desk
