‘Revival of Congress has begun,’ says Shashi Tharoor as Kharge takes charge as president

The MP, who lost to the senior Karnataka politician, thanked the Gandhi family for ‘doing their bit’ to ensure free and neutral internal elections.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor meets newly-elected party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi, on 19 2022 | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor was upbeat about the Congress’ “revival” Wednesday, hours after he lost out to veteran Karnataka leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the 138-year-old party’s 98^th president.

Tharoor was among a group of 23 senior leaders who had demanded an organisational rejig in 2020 after the Congress’s clobbering in two consecutive parliamentary elections.

On Wednesday, as the party chose a non-Gandhi leader for the first time in 24 years, Tharoor said: “I believe the revival of our party has truly begun today.”

While the Thiruvananthapuram MP polled 1,072 votes, Kharge — seen as the “official” pick of the Gandhis — swept the internal elections with 7,897 votes.

Tharoor met Kharge at his home after the results were declared and congratulated his opponent on the win.

“Today, the final verdict has been in favour of Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji. I would like to convey my warm congratulations to him for his victory. The decision of the party delegates is final and I accept it humbly. It is a privilege to be a member of a party that allows its workers to choose its president,” he said.

The Kerala MP also thanked outgoing President Sonia Gandhi for helming the party for a quarter of a century and for “being our anchor during our most crucial moments”.

“My thanks also to former president Shri Rahul Gandhi and Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for doing their own bit to support free and neutral elections. The Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the heart of Congress Party members — and with good reason too,” Tharoor added.

He further said the success of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra bore testament to the family’s “enduring appeal to the masses”.

During the campaign for the elections, Tharoor had alleged at various points that it was not a “level playing field”. In fact, on his campaign trail to Tamil Nadu, Tharoor tweeted that senior leaders were asked to not be visible during his visit.

The day prior to counting, Tharoor’s team had written to Chairman of the Congress’ Election Authority (CEA), Madhusudan Mistry, asking for the votes from Uttar Pradesh to be deemed invalid due to electoral misconduct.