Picture : Twitter/ ANI
80 -year-old Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge today officially took over as the president of the Congress Party at a programme where the former president Sonia Gandhi handed over the baton to the newly elected Dalit leader.
The election-in-charge for the Congress Madhusudan Mistry gave him the winning certificate.
Before taking charge , Kharge visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He also visited memorials of former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, besides former deputy PM Jagjivan Ram, the first Dalit president of the Congress.
Senior Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor too tweeted his congratulations to Kharge
Warmest congratulations to Shri Mallikarjun @kharge ji on his official assumption of the duties of @INCIndia president, and best wishes for his success. *LIVE* I am at AICC Headquarters, 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi.https://t.co/eu4PNWqlir pic.twitter.com/aO9NSxgkkY
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 26, 2022
Congress’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry announced Kharge’s name after the counting of votes and said that of the total 9,385 votes polled in the Congress president poll, Kharge got 7,897 votes and Tharoor received 1,072 votes. The rest of the 416 votes were declared invalid.
Delhi | Mallikarjun Kharge takes charge as the first non-Gandhi president of the Indian National Congress in 24 years
Former party president Sonia Gandhi, party MP Rahul Gandhi, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and other party leaders present. pic.twitter.com/1dJ0UQnjZm
— ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2022
The immediate task for Kharge is to solve the crisis in Rajasthan where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former PCC Chief And Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot are engaged in a face- off . Then there are assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Himachal Pradesh will Vote on November 12 , Results On December 8 as announced by the Election Commission. Poll dates of Gujarat are yet to be announced.
So Kharge has his task cut-out straight away .
Later quoted by ANI Kharge said, To make a new India, they want Congress-free India as they know that as long as Congress is there, they can’t do it. We will not let it happen and will continue to fight against it
Taking on the BJP, Kharge further said, In New India, hunger, pollution is increasing but Rupee is falling. Govt is sleeping but CBI, ED, and IT are working 24 hours. In new India, Godse is called a patriot & Mahatma Gandhi is an anti-national. They want to bring constitution of RSS
