Finally, today, the Congress party voted to elect its new president. Many prominent leaders including, Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (who is on his Bharat Jodo Yatra), cast their votes.
Both contenders for the President post — Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor — were upbeat after the poll. Kharge called the election a friendly internal fight. Though he dismissed that if elected, he would function as remote control of the Gandhis, Kharge did admit that he would seek advice from them.
Tharoor said, “I’m confident. The fate of the Congress party is in the hands of party workers. The odds have been stacked against us as the party leaders and establishment were overwhelming with the other candidate,” addressing reporters after casting his vote at Thiruvananthapuram.
Nonetheless, both Kharge and Tharoor stated that there is no official candidate, and the Gandhi family is playing neutral.
The Chairman of the Congress party’s central election authority said the overall voter turnout was 96 percent, with nearly 9,000 Congress leaders voting from 65 polling booths across the states. Vote counting will be held on October 19 (Wednesday).
Intriguingly, this is the sixth time in the 137-year history of the AICC, the party has opted for internal polls to choose a chief.
Image: IANS