New Delhi/IBNS: For the first time in 24 years, the countrys primary opposition party Congress is set to get its non-Gandhi president in the form of 80-year-old Rajya Sabha MP, Mallikarjun Kharge.
The elections, where Kharge took on Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, were held Monday.
The results are being declared Wednesday.
Kharge, who is known to be close to the Gandhi family, is comfortable ahead of Tharoor by winning the polls by over 6,000 votes.
Congratulating Kharge, Tharoor tweeted, It is a great honour a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task.
It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues, to carry the hopes aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India.
It is a great honour a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues, to carry the hopes aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India. pic.twitter.com/NistXfQGN1
Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 19, 2022
Kharge will succeed outgoing Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, who assumed the post after Rahul Gandhi stepped down following the partys 2019 Lok Sabha poll debacle.
Rahul Gandhi congratulates:
Gandhi tweeted: Congratulations to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected as the President of @INCIndia. 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.
Congratulations to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected as the President of @INCIndia.
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.
Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 19, 2022