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Congress Presidential Election 2022: Voting ends, results to be declared on October 19

Congress President Election: Voting to pick Shashi Tharoor or Mallikarjun Kharge as the new Congress chief started at 10 am and concluded at 4 pm.

Pic Credit: File Photo
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Congress president election 2022: The Congress members voted today (October 17) to choose the All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief who will replace interim president Sonia Gandhi. The voting took place at the AICC headquarters as well as at more than 65 polling places throughout the nation. It started at 10 am and concluded at 4 pm. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates from the electoral college will pick the new party chief -- Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor -- in a secret ballot. 

While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra voted at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi cast his vote at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' campsite in Karnataka's Sanganakallu in Ballari along with around 40 other 'Bharat Yatris' who are PCC delegates.

Tharoor cast his vote at the Kerala Congress headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, while Kharge did so at the Karnataka Congress office in Bengaluru.

Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.

The polls are significant as Congress will elect a non-Gandhi president after more than 24 years. 

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17 October 2022
16:44 PM

Congress presidential polls: Voting ends in Shashi Tharoor vs Mallikarjun Kharge contest

Voting ended at 4 pm in the Congress presidential poll as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced off for the post of AICC chief. Voting began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here and at the party's polling booths in state offices across the country.

The results will now be declared on October 19.

12:44 PM

'No complaints on polling': Congress Central election authority chairman

Congress' Central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said that he is satisfied with the party president polls process. He expressed that the elections are free, fair, and transparent. He further said that there are no complaints from any of the polling booths set up across the nation and the voting process is going smoothly.

 

12:35 PM

Sonia Gandhi is the Congress party's longest-serving president

There is much excitement among Congress party workers and the public as the party will elect its non-Gandhi chief after a long time. This is not the first time a non-Gandhi leader has run for the party presidency after Independence. You may remember Jitendra Prasad who challenged Sonia Gandhi for the position 22 years ago. Sonia went on to with the election and served as party chief for the longest tenure any party chief had seen (1998-2017) and then as interim president from 2019 to currently.

12:26 PM

Rahul Gandhi casts his vote in Congress presidential elections

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi cast his vote in the Congress presidential elections at a polling booth set up at a Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Karnataka.

 

11:38 AM

Ashok Gehlot: 'My relation with Gandhi family will be same even after Oct 19'

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the Congress presidential election gives the message of internal harmony in the party. He further said, "My relation with Gandhi family will be same even after 19 Oct (day of counting of votes)."

11:19 AM

Priyanka Gandhi votes in Congress presidential election 2022

(Image credit: Rahul Mishra/Zee News)

10:57 AM

Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi enroute to AICC office to cast their vote

10:49 AM

If Shashi Tharoor were elected as Congress party chief...

Shashi Tharoor who is batting for change said that he would implement the party's existing constitution which requires CWC elections and revival of the parliamentary board if he were elected as AICC chief. The parliamentary board has been dormant for a quarter-century. He had made this promise as part of his campaign. "We must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party. Our PCC delegates, for instance, have literally had no role for the last 22 years but to vote in the coming election on October 17th!" the 66-year-old leader had said to PTI. Tharoor also emphasised that the Congress must present a solid challenge to the BJP's "centralization of authority" in both party and governmental issues.

 

10:47 AM

Visuals from All India Congress Committee office on polling day

 

10:40 AM

Congress president election result to be out on Oct 19

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the party chief election day "historic." He said, "Congress party is the only political party to hold elections for its president. This is a historic day. Rahul Gandhi will cast his vote in Ballari during Bharat Jodo Yatra. Party's interim president Sonia Gandhi is expected to cast her vote around 11 am."

 

10:34 AM

Mallikarjun Kharge: 'Tharoor telephoned me and wished me luck'

On polling day, Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI that Shashi Tharoor, his opponent in the election, called him and wished him luck. He said, "It is a part of our internal election. Whatever we said to each other is on a friendly note. Together we have to build the party. (Shashi) Tharoor telephoned me and wished me luck & I also said the same."

 

10:22 AM

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor: 'I am confident'

While talking to reporters on polling day, senior leader Shashi Tharoor said that he is confident about the Congress presidential election. He mentioned that he received little support from the party leaders and establishment and said that the fate of the party lies in the hands of Congress workers. Tharoor is currently in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

(Image credit:ANI)

10:18 AM

Will Congress' G23 support Tharoor or Kharge?

Earlier, Congress MP and G23 member Manish Tewari had extended support for Mallikarjun Kharge instead of his G23 colleague Shashi Tharoor. He said to ANI, "...Kharge has spent several years, has grown from lowest posts in party. Congress needs stability which I feel Kharge can provide... "

 

10:11 AM

MPCC President Keisham Meghachandra casts his vote at Congress Bhawan, Imphal

Voting for the next AICC chief has begun with polling stations all across the nation. The votes will be counted on Oct 19 after which the results will be declared. This is a historic moment in the Congress leadership as the party has not had a non-Gandhi party president in over two decades.

 

10:07 AM

Voting begins at AICC office in Delhi, will continue till 4 pm

 

09:56 AM

Congress president elections: Final checks before voting begins

Congress party's Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry conducts final checks before voting for the party's presidential election begins at the AICC office. (ANI)

 

 

09:17 AM

Congress party members to elect non-Gandhi party president

A total of 75 Congress delegates including the party's interim president Sonia Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former PM Manmohan Singh, and other Congress Working Committee (CWC) members will vote at AICC headquarters in Delhi. As per ANI, 280 delegates will cast their votes at the Delhi Congress office.

 

09:11 AM

Rahul Gandhi to vote in Congress president polls from Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite

Rahul Gandhi who is on a padayatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir - Bharat Jodo Yatra will vote in the Congress presidential elections from the yatra campsite Sanganakallu, Ballari in Karnataka. A polling booth has been set up for the same which will open at 10 am, informed Congress Communications-in-charge Jairam Ramesh.

 

08:57 AM

Congress president election: Who are the candidates?

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are the two candidates for the post of the next AICC chief. Throughout the polling process, Kharge has emerged as the favourite candidate of veteran party leaders while Tharoor received little support from senior leaders. Tharoor has contested the elections by pitching himself to be a candidate for change in the Congress which has lost its pull over the masses. Kharge, on the other hand, maintained that he would lead along with the Gandhi family and won't hesitate to ask them for advice on party matters. 

08:52 AM

Congress president elections 2022: Voting process

In the Congress presidential elections, the electoral college will vote for a non-Gandhi party leader on Monday (Oct 17) in a secret ballot. The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place in Delhi on October 19. The contest is between Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge. Several Congress leaders will vote at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. On the other hand, other leaders will vote from polling stations set up across the nation.