New Delhi, Oct. 19: Senior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the new President of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The results of the elections held for the coveted post were announced on Wednesday. Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, who was the interim President of AICC.
Kharge received 7,897 votes out of the total 9,385 votes polled during the elections held on Oct. 17 while his opponent Shashi Tharoor polled 1,072 votes with 416 being declared invalid. Mallikarjun Kharge will be the second person from Karnataka after S. Nigalingappa (1968-69) to adorn the chair of AICC President. It is also after a gap of 24 years that a person not belonging to the Gandhi family will be heading the party at the national level. The post was held by Sonia Gandhi from 1998 to 2017. Following this, Rahul Gandhi held the post from 2017 to 2019 and later Sonia Gandhi was again elected as the interim President following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi.
Having joined the Indian National Congress in the year 1969, Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the District President of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee. He first contested the Assembly elections from the Gurmitkal constituency in 1972 which he won and since then he represented the constituency till 2004 for seven consecutive times. Later, he successfully contested from Chittapur constituency in the 2008 Assembly elections. He entered national politics after being elected to the 15th Lok Sabha by Gulbarga in 2009 and was also re-elected from the same constituency in 2014. However, he lost the 2019 General elections to BJP’s Umesh Jadhav by a margin of 95, 452 votes. Following this, Kharge contested the Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka in 2020 and was elected unopposed. He was also appointed as the Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha which he quit on Oct. 1, 2022 to contest for the Congress Party’s Presidential post.
Speaking to justnewz.in, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Party (KPCC) Working President R. Dhruvanarayan said it was a proud moment for every congressman from Karnataka to witness Mallikarjuna Kharge being elected as the AICC President after S. Nijalingappa.
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“Having been in active politics for over 50 years, he has served as AICC General Secretary apart from serving as KPCC President. His experience will give a boost to further strengthen the party in Karnataka as well at the national level. His election to the top post of the Congress Party will surely help us in the upcoming Assembly and General elections. We are sure that Kannadigas will extend their support to our party candidates,” he said.
Speaking to justnewz.in, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Party (KPCC) Working President R. Dhruvanarayan said it was a proud moment for every congressman from Karnataka to witness Mallikarjuna Kharge being elected as the AICC President after S. Nijalingappa.
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) Supremo H.D. Devegowda also congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge on being elected as the AICC President through this Twitter handle. Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah also congratulated Mallikarjun Kharge through a tweet.