After 24 years the Indian National Congress is set to get its first non-Gandhi as president in Mallikarjun Kharge who defeated rival, veteran MP Sashi Tharoor after securing 7897 votes in the election held on October 17th.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor secured 1000 votes while 416 votes got rejected. Congratulating his compatriot and fellow party member Tharoor conceded defeat through a tweet he wrote.
“It is a great honor & 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.”
In the election, over 9,500 delegates cast their votes to elect their new president. Kharge will be taking over from the interim president Sonia Gandhi after Diwali in the presence of other senior leaders in a special program at the Congress headquarters.
Earlier today, Tharoor’s unit in Congress flagged concern over irregularities in the election where Tharoor was seen upset over the manner in which things proceeded in the election, however not much was detailed about the same.