Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has been the favourite among the voters in electing the party president during the poll for the top post that was held on Monday, former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president Su Thirunavukarasar has said. Referring to the trend in voting pattern, he said the polling started early today.
After casting his vote, Thirunavukarasar, also an MP, said the elections are being held in a transparent manner and Kharge is the most favourite of the two - the other being Shashi Tharoor. "The voting trend shows Mallikarjun Kharge is the favourite," he told reporters. - PTI.
Two senior Telangana Congress leaders-former PCC president Ponnal Lakshmaiah and former Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha squatted on the steps of Gandhi Bhavan, state headquarters of the party protesting over a voter's name being missed in the AICC presidential elections voters' list.
The leaders alleged that one of the PCC delegates from Janagaon Assembly constituency who was issued a voter ID card was denied a vote in the presidential poll as his name did not figure in the electorate list. - PTI.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and former state unit head Balasaheb Thorat were among the first few leaders to cast their vote on Monday to elect the next All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief.
The delegates from the state include former chief ministers Sushilkumar Shinde, Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan. - PTI.
Congress MP and former Goa chief minister Francisco Sardinha on Monday said Rahul Gandhi should stop the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra and concentrate on the poll-bound states of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. He claimed that Congress is the "only party" which can defeat the BJP.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra is very important for the Congress. We want the party to grow at the grassroot level. He (Rahul Gandhi) has done a fantastic job, but now I want Rahulji to stop immediately and go to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where there are elections,” Sardinha told reporters in Panaji during polling for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president's post. - PTI.
With theCongressset to elect its first non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, senior leaders on Monday stressed the Gandhi family's guidance will be crucial and will play an important role in the party in the days to come.
Elections are happening in a democratic way, everybody is voting according to their own will. Has this kind of election that is happening in Congress happened in any other party? saysSenior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi, on Congress presidential poll.
"I am standing for change",Congresspresidential poll candidate Shashi Tharoor said on Monday after casting his vote along with 264 other party delegates from the state. Of the total 310 delegates in Kerala, 264 cast their vote till 1 PM in favour of either Tharoor or his rival Mallikarjun Kharge, who has been openly supported by the senior party leaders in the southern state.
Around 250 Congress delegates out of the total 407 in Gujarat have so far voted for the polls underway on Monday to elect the next AllIndiaCongress Committee (AICC) president, a party spokesperson said. Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Shashi Tharoor are in the race for the top party post. Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor and former state chief Amit Chavda were among those who exercised their franchise at the state party headquarters in Paldi area of the city.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and his parliamentarian son Nakul Nath cast their votes on Monday soon after polling began to elect the next All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief. Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is pitted against party MP Shashi Tharoor for the Congress president's post. A total of 502 delegates from Madhya Pradesh are eligible to cast their votes in the polls. Voting was underway at the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bhopal since 10 am and will conclude at 4 pm.
Today is a historic day, the election for Congress president is taking place today after 22 years. This election gives the message of internal harmony in the party. My relation with Gandhi family will be same even after 18 Oct (day of counting of votes): Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot
Congress party is the only political party to hold elections for its president. This is a historic day. Rahul Gandhi will cast his vote in Ballari during Bharat Jodo Yatra. Party's interim president Sonia Gandhi is expected to cast her vote around 11am, saysCongress MP Jairam Ramesh.
It is a part of our internal election. Whatever we said to each other is on a friendly note. Together we have to build the party. (Shashi) Tharoor telephoned me and wished me luck & I also said the same, saysCongress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru.
I'm confident. The fate of the Congress party is in the hands of party workers. The odds have been stacked against us as the party leaders & establishment were overwhelmingly with the other candidate: Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor, at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
A total of 75 Congress delegates incl party's interim pres Sonia Gandhi, Gen Secy Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former PM Manmohan Singh & other CWC members & senior leaders will cast their votes in AICC headquarters, Delhi 280 delegates will cast their votes in Delhi Congress office.
The race for the top post in the Congress party saw high political drama unfold in Rajasthan after MLAs supporting Ashok Gehlot, one of the likely contenders in the party presidential polls, resigned to thwart Sachin Pilot's bid to become the chief minister.
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After over two decades, the Congress is likely to see a contest for the post of party chief with Shashi Tharoor looking set to enter the fray after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi, and Ashok Gehlot being seen as the other contender.
Around 9,300 leaders and workers on Monday will choose between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor as to who will be the new Congress president, as the party will witness the first contest in the last 22 years and sixth in its 137-year-old history.
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Veteran Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday that he would not hesitate from taking advice from anyone, including Gandhi family, in running party affairsif he wins the party president’s election that is slatedfor Monday.
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Calling on electors to show courage to "embrace change", Congress' presidential polls candidate Shashi Tharoor on Sunday asserted that in the change he envisions, the party's "values and loyalties" will remain the same with only the ways of achievingthe goals undergoing a transformation.
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Around 9,300 leaders and workers on Monday will choose between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor as to who will be the new Congress president, as the party will witness the first contest in the last 22 years and sixth in its 137-year-old history.