It's Tharoor vs Kharge in battle for top Congress post

Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge started his bid for Congress president post on a strong note filing his nomination on Friday with the blessings of the 'High Command' and surprise support of the G-23 or change-seekers while his opponent Shashi Tharoor found it difficult to match his show of strength.

On the last day of filing nominations, former Jharkhand Minister K N Tripathi also filed nominations, while Digvijaya Singh bowed out of the race announcing support for Kharge. There was pressure on Tharoor to quit the battle but the senior MP refused to withdraw from the fight against Kharge, whom he described as the “Bhishma Pitamah of Congress” but a "candidate of continuity" and of "status quo".

Kharge's entry into the fray will now lead to a vacancy for the post of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, as the party insists 'one person, one post' norm. The party may consider a leader from north India to be Kharge's successor in Rajya Sabha and in such a scenario, Digvijaya may get the mantle, as he is senior enough to coordinate with other Opposition parties.

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A decision on Kharge's candidature was taken by party chief Sonia Gandhi after consulting senior leaders on Thursday evening. Gehlot's political brinkmanship to resist appointing Sachin Pilot as Rajasthan Chief Minister when he becomes president shook the party. Sources said the leadership did not want to have a repeat of the drama and chose to go by the safest candidate.

The first to file nomination papers was Tripathi followed by Tharoor and then Kharge. Over 9,100 delegates are eligible to cast their votes in the October 17 election and the result will be announced on October 19.

While Tharoor submitted five sets of nomination papers, sources said, Kharge filed 14 sets.

Tharoor was not accompanied by any senior leader. However, a clutch of people and a battery of senior leaders were at the Congress headquarters to accompany Kharge for the filing of his nomination.

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The background work for the past couple of weeks by central leaders paid dividends, as the rebel G-23 leaders came around to support Kharge. His nomination papers were signed by senior leaders like AK Antony, Ashok Gehlot, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, Digvijaya, Tariq Anwar, Pawan Bansal, and Salman Khurshid among others as propers.

Among the G-23 leaders, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Manish Tewari, and Prithviraj Chavan among others also signed, a move that put Tharoor in a spot as he was part of the group but failed to attract their support. The G-23 leaders were of the view that Tharoor should quit the race, which was not acceptable to the Thiruvananthapuram MP.

After filing the nominations, Kharge said he was encouraged by all leaders, party workers, and delegates from key states to contest the elections. "I have always been fighting this battle and I am keen to fight more to uphold the ideals of the Congress party with which I have been associated since my childhood," Kharge said.

Tharoor said, "it is a privilege to serve the only party in India with an open democratic process to choose its leader...It is a friendly contest that is going to happen. We are not enemies or rivals. No disrespect to him but I will represent my ideas."

"I am not surprised that the establishment is rallying behind the status quo. If you want the status quo, I think you should vote for Mr. Kharge. If you want change and progress in the party with an eye to the rest of the 21st century, then I hope I will stand for that change," Tharoor added.