Cong Chief-elect Kharge Vows Fight Against 'Threat to Democracy'; Tharoor Says Party's Revival Has Begun | Highlights

Veteran politician Mallikarjun Kharge swept the Congress’ 20th Presidential elections on Wednesday, defeating Shashi Tharoor by a massive margin, becoming the first non-Gandhi chief of the party in two decades and the sixth in the party’s 137-year-old history.

Kharge got 7,897 votes and Tharoor 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid, Congress’ central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry announced.

In his first statement after the results, Kharge thanked his party workers, colleagues including his electoral rival Tharoor and called for a “united fight against fascists.” “We have to together fight the threat to democracy and the Constitution,” Kharge asserted.

Kharge will formally take over as the party’s president on October 26.

Meanwhile, Tharoor, who had claimed “irregularities” in the conduct of the elections, later reiterated his earlier position of “batting on uneven ground,” a reference to his earlier concerns about the fairness of the polls and said he was never a candidate of dissent, but for change.

Here are the highlights of today’s Congress President Election Results:

• Addressing a press conference after his victory, Mallikarjun Kharge said, “no one is big or small, all have to work together as ‘karyakartas’ to strengthen Congress…We have to fight together against fascist forces who are attacking democracy and Constitution.”
• ‘Congress has a history of strengthening democracy’, said Kharge, adding, “today, when democracy is in danger and every institute is at threat, Congress has once again set an example of democracy by conducting a successful election.”
• Kharge said noted outgoing Sonia Gandhi’s “personal sacrifices” and said the outgoing party chief gave her blood and sweat to the party for two decades. “She revived the party and strengthened it. Her tenure will be remembered,” he said.
• Kharge conveyed his wishes to Tharoor and said: “we both were contenders but everything went smoothly. He came to visit me and we discussed the future of the party. I want to thank him.”
• Tharoor had earlier met Kharge at his residence and congratulated him on his victory. Conceding his defeat, Tharoor congratulated Kharge and said the “democratic contest” has galvanised vibrancy at all levels and has prompted a healthy and constructive discussion on change, which will serve the party in good stead in the future. Tharoor also claimed that the Congress’ revival has begun. In a statement, Tharoor said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the hearts of Congress party members.
• Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge will take charge on October 26, said party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
• Shashi Tharoor said he was “not a candidate of dissent, but a candidate for change. Tharoor told a press conference that he wanted more involvement of Congress karyakartas and said the party is not an organization of dissenters but that of change for the party to become better. “I was not a candidate of dissent. I was a candidate for a change. I want more involvement of congress Karyakartas. Change is not in policy or ideology but on an operational level.”
• The senior MP said party members decided between Kharge’s continuity and his push for change. Before the elections, Tharoor had released a poll manifesto outlining his priorities while Kharge said that his only agenda is to implement Congress’s Udaipur declaration.
• With a reference to his earlier tweet to Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry flagging “extremely serious irregularities” in the conduct of the election in Uttar Pradesh, Tharoor said such “glitches were bound to happen” “Our party didn’t hold polls for 22 years. In elections of this nature, there were bound to be glitches. Leadership by and large stayed with Mr Kharge, it’s not surprising if you’ve chosen between change and continuity and if you are part of continuity why would you want change?
• Reiterating his earlier statement on unequal ground for the polls, he said, “I batted on an uneven pitch” and was “only cautious” about “ball tampering”, in a reference to the earlier statement on irregularities.
• In a cryptic tweet quoting 13th-century Persian poet Rumi’s verse, Tharoor wrote, “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
• According to experts, Kharge’s victory was almost certain as he was considered a ‘family-approved’ candidate due to close relations with the Gandhis.
• Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Kharge at his residence here soon and congratulated him. She was accompanied by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed best wishes to Congress president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge. “My best wishes to Shri Mallikarjun Kharge Ji for his new responsibility as President of @INCIndia. May he have a fruitful tenure ahead,” he said in a tweet.
• Senior leader Rahul Gandhi said Kharge represents a “democratic vision” of India. “The Congress President represents a democratic vision of India. His vast experience and ideological commitment will serve the party well as he takes on this historic responsibility,” he said on Twitter.
• Priyank Kharge said his father, Mallikarjun Kharge, will strengthen the outfit by consulting everyone and give preference to the party workers. “We have to build the party at the grassroots level, encourage our cadre and have to work beyond our capacities to ensure that the governments are formed in various states. Challenges are very clear and his directions are very clear. The process of building the party will be consultative and the workers will get the preference.”
• Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hailed newly-elected AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s sweeping win in the party president polls and said he is a “shining symbol of social empowerment inspired by Nehru, Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi and Devaraj Urs.”
• It’s a moment of pride that Mallikarjun Kharge became Congress President, said former contender for party’s chief post and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, adding he is an experienced leader. “Congress will strengthen under his leadership, and our party is united across the country,” he said.
• Chief Minister Gehlot, his former deputy Sachin Pilot and other party leaders, including Mahesh Joshi, Congress chief whip in the Rajasthan Assembly, separately met Kharge in Delhi after his victory to congratulate him. Congress Rajya Sabha members Neeraj Dangi and Mukul Wasnik were also present. Pilot expressed confidence party workers would get a new direction under Kharge’s leadership and guidance.
• Besides demanding that all votes from Uttar Pradesh be deemed invalid, Tharoor’s campaign team had 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 had said the facts are “damning” and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is “devoid of credibility and integrity”. 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.
• After Tharoor flagged the issue of “polling irregularities” in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP mocked the senior party leader, saying did he expect free and fair elections. BJP IT department head Amit Malviya also claimed that the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram will be ridiculed and shamed for taking on the Gandhis.
• A leader with more than 50 years of experience in politics, Kharge is the second AICC President from Karnataka after S Nijalingappa and also the second Dalit leader after Jagjivan Ram to hold the post.

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