INDIA: In times of a major political crisis, Congress is conducting presidential polling, and veteran political leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are standing against each other.
In the ongoing race, both the Congress loyalists Kharge and Tharoor are giving each other tough competition. The polling process commenced at around 10 am and will end at 4 pm. The final results are likely to be declared on October 19.
Meanwhile, Gandhi family members like Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have already cast their votes unbiasedly.
Ever since independence, this is the sixth time in history that the oldest (137-year old) Congress party is ahead in choosing its party chief outside the Gandhi family. Over 9,000 Congress party workers will vote to choose their party’s 37th president.
In recent days, the eligible candidates, Tharoor and Kharge, have been actively campaigning across several states of India, seeking votes for themselves.
Moreover, Kharge in his early statement made clear that the party cannot survive without Gandhi’s guidance and supervision and will also need the help of Sonia Gandhi’s advice.
Sonia Gandhi, in her statement, said, “I have been waiting for this for a long time,” which perhaps is a sign of her prolonged wait to bring a new change to the party.
During the ongoing counting, Rahul Gandhi cast his vote at a “Bharat Jodo Yatra” campsite in Karnataka. However, the much-needed reformation inside the party is needed because this has been a major reason many eligible Congress workers backed the party.
One amongst them is P Chidambaram, who quit the Congress in 1997 to join the breakaway Tamil Maanila Congress. However, he rejoined Congress in 2003.
P Chidambaram has actively cast his vote for the future Congress chief and wants to see a bright future for the party.
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