'Sonia Gandhi has LAST WORD in party's internal politics': Former Congress leader Ashwani Kumar on Mallikarjun Kharge's election as party president

Ashwani Kumar also lauded Shashi Tharoor for taking on the challenge to contest the top Congress post and said he is no loser. "The election process is a victory for him. He invested his energy in making a political statement by walking the talk. He has clearly outshone most of his once-upon-a-time colleagues in the G-23 grouping and has positioned himself as a challenger," Kumar said.

New Delhi: Former Congress leader Ashwani Kumar has said the election of Mallikarjun Kharge as party president by a huge margin shows Sonia Gandhi still has the last word in the organisation's internal politics. Sonia Gandhi is likely to command such respect as long as she is active in the party in whatever capacity, Kumar said while asserting that it is because party persons retain a sense of personal loyalty to her, which extends to the family.

"That Kharge was her undeclared choice is indisputable notwithstanding vehement denials by the establishment to the contrary. Sonia Gandhi has once again demonstrated her astute political judgment in using elections to demonstrate the family's pre-eminence in the party established over long years of exercise of political patronage," Kumar said in a statement.

The former union minister also lauded Shashi Tharoor for taking on the challenge to contest the top Congress post and said he is no loser. "The election process is a victory for him. He invested his energy in making a political statement by walking the talk. He has clearly outshone most of his once-upon-a-time colleagues in the G-23 grouping and has positioned himself as a challenger," Kumar said.

The former law minister also said Tharoor has registered his presence on the national scene for the long run, noting that much will depend on how he conducts himself hereon and how the party treats him.

Kumar said Tharoor need not complain about the absence of a level-playing field, which is never the case in a 'David versus Goliath' fight, noting that his tally of over 1,000 votes is a significant pointer.

Asserting that defining ideological battles cannot be captive to personal vanities and animosities, Kumar said, "The Congress needs conscientious dissenters willing and able to hold on to their views. Mallikarjuna Kharge will need to be a consensus builder within the party and remove causes for the alienation of party persons over the years. In this necessary task, he will need the family's support."

In the high-stakes electoral contest, Kharge defeated Tharoor and was elected the new Congress president on Wednesday. He also became the first non-Gandhi Congress president after nearly 24 years. He is expected to take the reins of the party after Diwali celebrations.