It’s Mallikarjun Kharge v Shashi Tharoor today for Congress helm

While Tharoor’s campaign appeared to pack a punch, many party insiders see Kharge as the possible winner.

At least 9,200 Congress delegates across the country will cast their votes on Monday to elect the party’s 37th president since Independence in an election that could change the course of the Congress. Both candidates — parliamentarians Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor — covered various states in their campaigns, even as the Gandhi family members maintained distance from the entire poll process.

Congress workers prepare for the election of the party's new president in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

While Tharoor’s campaign appeared to pack a punch, many party insiders see Kharge as the possible winner, with backing by a large section of the party establishment and key “G23” leaders. The voting will take place in all Pradesh Congress offices and the AICC headquarters at 24, Akbar Road.

The last such election in 2000 was between Sonia Gandhi and Jitendra Prasada. Out of 7,700 votes, Sonia got 7,448, while Prasada got only 94. The remaining votes were either invalid or not polled. Tharoor, however, is expected to give a tougher fight to Kharge as he enjoys support from the younger section of the party.

Former Congress presidents Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and the party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are set to participate in the election. Rahul will cast his vote at a special polling booth at the party’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” campsite in Sanganakallu, Karnataka, according to people aware of the matter. A total of 41 “Bharat Yatris” who are Pradesh Congress Committee delegates will vote at the campsite, they added. Sonia and Priyanka are expected to vote at the AICC headquarters.

The last non-Gandhi Congress president, Sitaram Kesri, headed the party for under two years before he was unceremoniously removed by the Congress Working Committee on March 14, 1998 to pick Sonia Gandhi as the party chief. She went on to become the longest serving president of the Congress party for 22 years (Indira Gandhi headed the party for seven years and Jawaharlal Nehru for eight years).

The new party president will come in amid a gripping crisis for the party. It failed to reach triple digit tally in the last two general elections — for the first time in history, this happened for the party in two consecutive Lok Sabha elections. It was defeated in 37 assembly elections since 2014 and faces a challenging future against a formidable BJP. The party lost promising young leaders as well as loyal veterans, even as Rahul Gandhi’s decision-making came under criticism from those within the party.

Congress general secretary for communication Jairam Ramesh, however, did not attach much significance to the election, and said: “I am not at all convinced that organisational elections actually strengthen the organisation in any way. They may serve individual purposes but their value in building a collective spirit is doubtful.” He underlined that the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party’s largest mass mobilisation campaign, is more important.

Political observers have already expressed doubt if Kharge, perceived as a nominee of the party high command, can bring changes in the party that is desperately seeking to regain electoral bases. “Kharge is likely to win but he is likely to follow Rahul Gandhi’s vision,” said a senior leader, asking not to be named.

On the last day of campaigning, Kharge posted a video that mostly of consisted of clips his participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with an appeal to vote for him. He will cast his vote in Bangalore, people familiar with the matter said.

Tharoor did not waste the precious last day before the election on Monday, and campaigned in Assam. The Lok Sabha MP has alleged that in many states, he did not receive a warm welcome and even the list of delegates or voters that he got didn’t have many names and contact numbers.

He also alleged that the election was an “uneven playing field”, indicating bias against him. His team made several allegations that CWC leaders and many PCC chiefs were openly campaigning for Kharge, prompting the Congress to announce that all general secretaries, incharges and other AICC functionaries can’t cast their votes in their respective states.