LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge set to file nomination for AICC President election

Kharge’s decision to file the nomination, according to those close to him, came after a late evening phone call with AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi.

Candidates who file their nominations on Friday have until 8 October to withdraw. If Kharge were to go through with his nomination, the contest for AICC President election will essentially be a fight between Thiuvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and 80-year-old Mallikarjun Kharge.

Many twists and turns

As names of contenders, purportedly “having the blessings of Gandhi family” has changed, Tharoor’s candidate has been the only constant.

What was first thought of as a contest between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Thaoor, one among the signatories of the G-23 group of leaders in the Congress, has evolved, with Digvijaya Singh throwing his hat in the ring.

Received a visit from ⁦@digvijaya_28⁩ this afternoon. I welcome his candidacy for the Presidency of our Party. We both agreed that ours is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest among colleagues. All we both want is that whoever prevails, @incIndia will win!✋?? pic.twitter.com/Df6QdzZoRH

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 29, 2022

Kharge’s candidature comes in the light of various twists and turns the AICC president race has taken. Kharge will now be seen as a Gandhi-family endorsed candidate, although the first family of the Congress has insisted that it will back no candidates.

“When you enter a race, you know that the outcome is uncertain, but you go with confidence that you’ll give a good account of yourself,” Shashi Tharoor told media on Friday at Raj Ghat in New Delhi, ahead of filing his nomination.

President from the South

In the event of either winning, the Indian National Congress could have its first President from South India since PV Narasimha Rao in 1994. Either of the leaders, if elected, will join the ranks of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, K Kamaraj, S Nijalingappa and Rao, southern leaders who have been presidents of the Congress since Independence.