With the exception of two times, there hasn’t been a contest since 1997. When Sitaram Kesri was the Congress president and campaigning for office for the first time after being named P V Narasimha Rao’s successor in 1997, Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot faced off against him. Both Pilot, who rose to prominence as a tough and charismatic leader during Rao’s final two years in government, and Pawar, who served as the opposition leader throughout the United Front cabinet, failed to make any progress. While Pawar and Pilot canvassed neighbourhoods for support for their campaign, Kesri wrote a letter to party delegates pleading for their help. Kesri won with ease.
Rahul Gandhi gave up his position as the party’s full-time leader after the Congress was defeated for the second time in a row in the general elections of 2019. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was re-elected thanks in part to the election campaign, according to Rahul Gandhi. Since Rahul Gandhi was selected as the party’s leader in December 2017, Sonia Gandhi, who ruled over the Congress for an unparalleled and uninterrupted 18 years, has served as interim president.
The level of competitiveness in various election phases has previously been urged to rise. Party officials assert, however, that openly competitive internal elections sparked unfavourable feelings that had an effect on the organisation. It has been revealed that the solution is coming to an agreement while taking into account various interests and groups.
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Kharge claimed that all senior leaders and young leaders pushed him to compete in the elections despite the fact that none of the Gandhi family members, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, desired to be the party’s leader.
Senior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also the party’s presidential candidate, asserted on Sunday that although he had recommended a consensus candidate to rival Shashi Tharoor, the Lok Sabha MP pushed on a contest for the “sake of democracy.”
Kharge said that the G-23 camp was no longer present and that all of its members were now supporting him because they wanted to battle the RSS-BJP together during a news conference to announce the beginning of his campaign for president of the Congress.
Kharge asserted that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were not interested in becoming the party’s leader, and that all senior leaders and youth leaders encouraged him to run for government.
Mr. Kharge claimed at a press conference that all of the BJP’s promises remain unfulfilled and that unemployment, inflation, and the gap between the rich and the poor are all growing. He was joined by Deepender Hooda, Syed Naseer Hussain, and Gourav Vallabh.
A public discussion between the contenders, according to Lok Sabha Member Shashi Tharoor, would increase interest in the party and be similar to the previous British Conservative Party leadership election. For the job of AICC leader, Tharoor is in a close election campaign with seasoned Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge. He continued by saying that members of the Congress party have always held a special place in their hearts for the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Despite being a part of the “special class,” Mallikarjun Kharge’s opponent in the race, Shashi Tharoor, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asserted on Sunday that Kharge has the skills to help the Congress and will win easily. ” Kharge is quite knowledgeable about politics. “He has a clean heart, he comes from the Dalit community, and (Kharge running for election) is being welcomed everywhere,” he said in a media interview after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the secretariat. Gehlot, one of Kharge’s proposers, asserted that Tharoor is an excellent person with fantastic ideas, but he is from the upper class.
According to a notice the Congress sent on Thursday, candidates had between September 24 through September 30 to submit their nominations. While the deadline for reviewing the nomination papers was October 1, the deadline for withdrawing submissions is October 8. 5 p.m. on October 8th. There will be a release of the final list of applicants. The election will take place on October 17 if required. The vote-counting procedure will start on October 19 and the results will be made public that same day.
