Mallikarjun Kharge took over as Congress president on Wednesday, and members of the party’s apex decision making body, the Congress Working Committee resigned soon after, to allow the new president to choose his own team, although by end of day, all 20 members of CWC, and 23 of its 24 permanent invitees were back as part of a 47-member Steering Committee which will “function in place of CWC”, according to statement from the party.
Shashi Tharoor, who contested the party president polls where Kharge, 80, was de facto, the official candidate, does not find place in the 47-member committee which has seven members who were not part of the CWC (as a member or a permanent invitee). Among the new entrants are Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Randeep Surjewala, and Kumari Selja.
It is believed that the CWC will be constituted only after the results of the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections are announced on December 8, and it is not clear whether the names will be picked by Kharge, or an election be held.
On Wednesday, an event was held at the party headquarters, attended by outgoing president Sonia Gandhi, former president Rahul Gandhi, and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to hand over a winner’s certificate to Kharge.
Sonia Gandhi welcomed Kharge as the new party president and said he is a grounded leader who will take the party’s ideals forward. Sonia Gandhi took over as party president in 1998 and is credited with leading the party to two consecutive Lok Sabha wins in 2004 and 2009. Stating that she is “relieved” to pass on the responsibility to Kharge, Gandhi said she would cherish till “last breath” the respect and appreciation she has received.
{{/usCountry}}Sonia Gandhi welcomed Kharge as the new party president and said he is a grounded leader who will take the party’s ideals forward. Sonia Gandhi took over as party president in 1998 and is credited with leading the party to two consecutive Lok Sabha wins in 2004 and 2009. Stating that she is “relieved” to pass on the responsibility to Kharge, Gandhi said she would cherish till “last breath” the respect and appreciation she has received.
{{/usCountry}}The incoming Congress president gifted her a photo of former PM Rajiv Gandhi as a token of his appreciation. “Sonia ji has been our guiding light. She anchored the Congress party through difficult times, through highs and lows, personifying the values of courage, sacrifice, grace and respect. She will always remain our source of strength as the party gears up for the future challenges,’’ tweeted Kharge.
He also appreciated Rahul Gandhi’s mission to meet people through the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and said, “A new wave is forming in the country and we will not let it go waste. It is my responsibility as the president of Congress.”
“Who would have thought that there will be a political era in the country where there will be an influence of falsehoods and the ruler in power would be involved in weakening the democracy?” he said. He said the Congress’s ideology draws from the ideals of the Indian constitution.
“In new India, hunger and pollution are on the rise, while the rupee is falling. The government is sleeping but CBI, ED, and (the ) IT (department) are working 24 hours. In new India, [Nathuram] Godse is called a patriot and Mahatma Gandhi is an anti-national. To make a new India, they [BJP] want a Congress-free country because they know that as long as Congress is there, they can’t do it. We will not let it happen and will continue to fight against it,” Kharge said in his address.
Meanwhile, the BJP wondered if Kharge will be made a scapegoat if his party performs poorly in the upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. While noting that the veteran Congress leader’s elevation is his party’s internal matter, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra suggested in his reply to a question from reporters that the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul on his two sides on the dais was indicative of the family rule in the party, news agency PTI reported.
“What type of New India is it where farmers are crushed under vehicles, atrocities against women are increasing and culprits are respected, and citizens are troubled due to inflation? In their [BJP’s] New India, people from Dalit, adivasi and other minority communities are disrespected and their opportunities are being snatched,” Kharge, a Dalit himself, added.
Congress MP KC Venugopal claimed that while every political party speaks about internal democracy, the Congress had displayed its true form through its recent presidential election.
Senior party leaders hoped that the election would help “re-energise” the Congress. “We hope that after the polls of Congress president, we will have elected state PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) presidents and elected district Congress committee presidents. This will really re-energise the party,” Congress MP Anand Sharma said. Sharmna was famously part of the so-called G-23, a group of leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 demanding changes in the way the party was run.
The Congress lost both the 2014 and 2019 national elections badly, saw its vote share fall to below 20% in the latter, and currently rules over only two Indian states.
Sanjay Kumar, director, CSDS, said it’s too early to make any decision whether the Gandhi influence will still remain. “Kharge will definitely make an effort to dispel the notion that a president has to be a puppet president,” he said. “He will pay due respect to the Gandhi but at the same time establish the notion that a non-Gandhi president can work independently. The setting up of the steering committee after the dissolution of the CWC sends a strong signal that he is looking to make some changes.”
In his first meeting as president, Kharge presided over a discussion to finalise candidates for the upcoming Gujarat elections.
Kharge won the presidential race by over 7,800 votes against Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor, and is the first non-Gandhi in 24 years to occupy the party’s top post. “Gathered for a brief chat after @kharge ji sat In his new office for a symbolic moment. Pledged him my full support & cooperation in taking @incIndia forward,” his former opponent Tharoor tweeted.