Congress Presidential poll: It's Mallikarjun Kharge vs Shashi Tharoor as KN Tripathi's nomination rejected

New Delhi: Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry has announced that the final contest for the post of Congress  president will be between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor. Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi's nomination for the Congress presidential poll was rejected on Saturday by Mistry. The three had filed nominations on Friday, the last day of the process. Madhusudan Mistry, while addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, said, "a total of 20 forms were received during the nomination process and four of them were rejected".

While Kharge submitted 14 forms, Tharoor submitted five and Tripathi one. Mistry said Tripathi's form was rejected as the signature of one of his proposers did not match and another proposer's signature was repeated. 

Earlier, Mallikarjun Kharge submitted his resignation to Sonia Gandhi from the post of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha as per the Udaipur resolution of One Leader One Post. 

Also Read: Mallikarjun Kharge: A true Gandhi family loyalist and experienced administrator

Congress leaders supporting Mallikarjun Kharge

Kharge has received support from nearly 30 Congress leaders for the party`s presidential polls. These names include Deepender Hooda, Salman Khurshid, Ashok Gehlot, Digvijaya Singh, Manish Tewari, Prithviraj Chavan, and others.

Tharoor supporters: 2 former Union ministers, 4 MPs, G-23 leader among 60 signatories

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor posted six forms that had the signatures of 60 Pradesh Congress Committee delegates (10 each on six forms), 10 delegates from Jammu and Kashmir and 10 delegates from Nagaland have backed Tharoor.

I present my 60 nominees. 12 states, all levels of leadership but all proud @INCIndia workers. I thank them & the thousands of workers they represent for the faith they have placed in me. Thanks, my Parliamentrary colleagues, for yr unwavering support. #ThinkTharoorThinkTomorrow pic.twitter.com/qbml84m4Vk — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 1, 2022

Among the prominent leaders who supported Tharoor were former Union ministers Soz, Kidwai, four MPs Karti Chidambaram, Pradyut Bordoloi, M K Raghavan and Mohammad Jawaid and Sandeep Dikshit.
Dikshit and Tharoor were among the group of 23 leaders who sent a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking large-scale organisational reforms. Soz's son Salman Soz was also among Tharoor's supporters.

Earlier today, Tharoor launched his campaign for the party president's election by visiting the Deekshabhoomi monument in Nagpur where B R Ambedkar embraced Buddhism with his followers on October 14, 1956.

In an interview to ANI today, he said, "If the party leaders and workers are "satisfied" with the "working of the party", they should vote for Mallikarjun Kharge, who is his opponent in the race to the top post in the party. Tharoor stressed that the contest between him and Kharge is "not a battle" and it should be left upon the Congress workers to choose between the duo.

Nominations for the post of Congress president closed at 3 pm on Friday and results will be declared on October 19. With the Gandhis not running for the top post this time around, the grand old party is all set to get a non-Gandhi president after over 25 years.

(With agency inputs)