Highlights: Newly-elected Cong president Kharge to take charge on Oct 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected the Congress party president.

Not a presonal battle, Kharge's win is Congress win: Shashi Tharoor after defeat in top party polls

Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge will take charge on October 26, announces Congress MP Randeep Surjewala.

Newly-elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in his first address after the mega win said, “I want to congratulate my partner Shashi Tharoor as well. I met him and discussed how to take the party forward. I want to thank Sonia Gandhi on behalf of all party workers. Under her leadership, we formed our government in the centre twice.”

It's a moment of pride that Mallikarjun Kharge became Congress President, he is an experienced leader. Congress will strengthen under his leadership, and our party is united across the country: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi congratulates Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected as the President of the Congress party.

"Congratulations to Mallikarjun Kharge ji on being elected as the President of @INCIndia. The Congress President represents a democratic vision of India. His vast experience and ideological commitment will serve the party well as he takes on this historic responsibility," he wrote.

Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi arrives at the residence of Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge.

The newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to address the media at 4 pm today.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor congrats to newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence, in New Delhi.

Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry while addressing the media informed that the “total counted votes were 9,385 - of which Mallikarjun Kharge received 7,897 votes & Dr Shashi Tharoor received 1,072 votes.” He also said that invalid votes were 416.

Shashi Tharoor reaches the residence of the Congress President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge, in Delhi, reported news agency ANI.

Election agent to Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor writes letter to Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudhan Mistry, alleging "extremely serious irregularities in conduct of election in UP" & demands "that all votes from UP be deemed invalid".

“We've been in constant communication with Madhusudan Mistry's office, informed them about many different issues, cannot get into its specifics right now,” Salman Soz, election agent of Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor told news agency ANI.

Congress central election authority chairman Mistry has expressed satisfaction with the party's presidential polls process, saying it was "free, fair and transparent".

The counting agents of Kharge are Pramod Tiwari, Kodikunil Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kuljit Singh Bagra and Gurdeep Singh Sappal.

Karti Chidambaram, Atul Chaturvedi and Sumedh Gaikwal are among those who are counting agents of Tharoor.

Mallikarjun Kharge only lost one election in his career – in 2019, to his former poll agent. In 1999, 2004 and 2013, he was considered as the top contender for the Karnakata CM post but he never became a CM.

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The Congress is set to get a new president on Wednesday with the counting of votes underway.

The Congress is set to get a new president on Wednesday with the counting to take place from 10 am.

The counting of votes will be held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi, with the results expected to be announced at around 3pm or 4pm.

Monday's election was only for the sixth time in Congress' 137-year-old history that elections were held for the party chief's post. On the previous occasion, in 1998, Sonia Gandhi defeated Jitendra Prasada, and held the post till December 2017, when she passed the baton to her son, Rahul Gandhi.

Elections to the post of Congress president were held on Monday, and 68 polling booths were set up across the country.

The electoral contest was held between veteran Mallikarjun Kharge and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.

The Chairman of the Central Election Authority will announce the result after counting. More than 9,500 delegates cast their votes in the presidential election which took place at the culmination of the party's organisational polls.

It will be for the first time in 24 years that the party will get a party chief who does not belong to the Nehru-Gandhi family.