Congress President Poll: Contest for the sake of democracy, says Shashi Tharoor to Mallikarjun Kharge

Mallikarjun Kharge said he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the `sake of democracy`

New Delhi: Mallikarjun Kharge, the nominee for Congress president, said on Sunday that he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the "sake of democracy". Even as he denied being the "official candidate" backed by the Gandhis, Kharge stated that if he is elected party chief, he will consult with the Gandhi family and other senior leaders and implement their recommendations. Kharge, 80, launched his Congress presidential campaign with a press conference at his residence here, saying there is no longer a G-23 camp and that all those leaders want to fight together against the RSS-BJP and thus support him.

Several dissident leaders, including Bhupinder Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, and Prithviraj Chavan of the group of 23, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 requesting large-scale organisational reform, have backed Kharge by becoming his proposers rather than Tharoor, who was a prominent member of the group.All senior leaders and youth leaders urged Kharge to run because no member of the Gandhi family – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – wanted to be party chief.

"All my colleagues told me to fight the party president poll and on their calling and encouragement, I got inspiration as they extended their cooperation...Because Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi do not want to become president," he said.

Kharge stated that he did not enter the election to oppose anyone, but rather to strengthen Congress through his views and to advance the party's ideology. He stated that, by the party's 'one person, one post' principle, he resigned as Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha on the day he filed his nomination. Kharge elaborated on his political journey of struggles and successes, claiming that working for a party is a full-time job rather than a part-time job.

"I have been working full-time. If I sat in Parliament then I would get up only in the evening at the time of shutdown. It is my habit that whatever I take up, I work sincerely," he quotes. When asked about Tharoor's comments that Kharge is a candidate of continuity and status quo, the Rajya Sabha MP responded, "He (Tharoor) may have his views...The status quo and reforms he talks of will be decided by the 9,300-odd delegates, after that, a committee will be formed (Congress Working Committee). The committee as a whole will decide all policy matters that will be formulated by consensus and we will implement that."

"It will not be done by one person. For me, the keyword is 'Hum (We)' instead of 'main (Me). We will decide together and wherever there are shortcomings, we will take action," He stated. Senior leaders urged Kharge to run because of the country's pressing issues, such as high unemployment, rising inflation, a widening gap between rich and poor, and the BJP's failure to fulfil any of its promises.

"Will always work to take forward the party's principles and ideology," he said. Rejecting claims that he was the official candidate and the BJP's criticism that the Gandhi family will wield real power, Kharge said the BJP always tries to undermine the Congress. "When did they (BJP) have elections, do they have an election authority? How many delegates do they have? Who elected J P Nadda? Have their presidents been elected in polls? In Congress, we have election authority, delegates, voting power, and candidates in the fray. Still, they (BJP) are saying the election is not happening, the Gandhi family is controlling," he said.

Kharge stated that the Gandhi family has made significant sacrifices for the country, pointing out that Sonia Gandhi did not want to enter politics but was persuaded by the argument that the country needed her services, and she strengthened the party.

(Inputs from PTI)