Cong presidential polls: Mallikarjun Kharge trounces Tharoor

Mallikarjun Kharge was on Wednesday (October 19) elected the Congress president after defeating Shashi Tharoor in an electoral contest, the sixth in the party’s 137-year-old history.

Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry announced after the counting of votes that of the 9,385 votes polled in the Congress president poll, Kharge got 7,897 votes and Shashi Tharoor 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid.

At a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Mistry declared Kharge elected as Congress president.

On complaints by Tharoor’s team related to polling in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana, Mistry said he would respond to the letter point by point. He said the letter should not have been leaked to the press and Tharoor’s team should have directly engaged with the poll authority.

Mistry said there was no basis for the contents of the letter and there was nothing specific in the complaint. In a statement, Tharoor said the final verdict has been in favour of Kharge. He also conveyed his congratulations to Kharge 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 their president,” Tharoor said.

“Our new president is a party colleague and senior who brings ample leadership and experience to the table. Under his guidance, I am confident that we can all collectively take the party to new heights,” he said.

Tharoor said the party owes an “irredeemable debt” to outgoing president Sonia Gandhi for her quarter-century of leadership of the party and for being the anchor during most crucial moments. “Her decision to authorise this election process, which has given us new pathways to the future, is undoubtedly a fitting testament to her sagacity and vision for our party. I hope she continues to guide, motivate and inspire the partys new leadership team in overcoming the challenges ahead,” he said.

Tharoor also thanked former president Rahul Gandhi and 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 hearts of Congress party members and with good reason too,” he said.

Analysis: Crown of thorns awaits next Cong chief; key is for Kharge, Tharoor to join forces

It is a great honour & a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia &I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues,& to carry the hopes& aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India. pic.twitter.com/NistXfQGN1

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 19, 2022

Earlier, Tharoor’s team had written to the party’s chief election authority (CEA), flagging “extremely serious irregularities” and “voter fraud” in the conduct of the election in Uttar Pradesh and demanded that all votes from the state be deemed invalid.

Tharoor’s campaign team has also raised “serious issues” in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.

In his letter to CEA chairman Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s chief election agent Salman Soz has said the facts are “damning” and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is “devoid of credibility and integrity”.

Also read: Cong prez poll: Counting of votes begins in Kharge vs Tharoor contest

In a tweet, Soz said on Monday (October 19), “In light of complaints from our UP team yesterday, we wrote to @INCIndia’s CEA immediately, a standard practice. Subsequent discussions with the CEA have assured us of a fair inquiry. We have agreed for the counting to continue and our team looks forward to the results.”

In light of complaints from our UP team yesterday, we wrote to @INCIndia’s CEA immediately, a standard practice.
Subsequent discussions with the CEA have assured us of a fair inquiry. We have agreed for the counting to continue and our team looks forward to the results.

— Salman Anees Soz (@SalmanSoz) October 19, 2022

Soz conveyed to Mistry that what has been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh is an open challenge to the authority of “your office” as well as contempt for the orders of the Congress president and the Congress Working Committee to hold free and fair elections.

“We would like to underline that we have no evidence that Mallikarjun Kharge ji was aware of how his supporters were engaging in electoral malpractice in Uttar Pradesh. We are certain that if he was aware, he would never allow what happened in Uttar Pradesh,” Soz said in his letter.

Also read: Shashi Tharoor: From distinguished UN career to being outspoken politician

“He (Kharge) would not allow the tainting of an election that is so important for the Indian National Congress,” Soz added.

The “irregularities” in Uttar Pradesh flagged by Tharoor’s team include the use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes, the presence of unofficial persons in polling booths, voting malpractice, no polling summary sheet, presence of AICC secretaries in-Charge of Uttar Pradesh.

“We suspect voter fraud in this election. There were delegates who were not present in the Lucknow area on the day of voting and their votes were cast. There were complaints from people about not being allowed to cast their votes since others had already cast their votes. We have not heard of such complaints from almost any other state or union territory,” the letter dated October 18 said.

Also read: Congress poll ends; 9,500 PCC delegates decide on Kharge vs Tharoor

“We do not see how this election can be deemed free and fair if the tainted process of Uttar Pradesh is allowed to stand. We, therefore, demand that all votes from Uttar Pradesh be deemed invalid,” it added.

“When our agents complained about voter malpractice, supporters of the other side would come inside the polling booth and create a ruckus and start threatening our polling agents,” Soz said.

In a separate letter to Mistry, Tharoor’s team also raised serious issues in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.

Also read: Bharat Jodo Yatra: Key to Congress’ electoral revival lies elsewhere

Tharoor had repeatedly raised the issue of an uneven playing field in the polls but maintained that Gandhis had assured him of neutrality.

Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters on Monday.