Prior to the announcement of the results of the Congress presidential polls, Rahul Gandhi, a party leader, unintentionally suggested that Mallikarjun Kharge would be the new party chief. During a press conference in Andhra Pradesh, when a reporter inquired about his potential role in the party, Gandhi responded, “I can’t comment on the Congress President’s role; that’s for Kharge ji, the party’s Presidential candidate, to comment on. The President will decide what my role is…”
The election results, featuring a competition between Kharge and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor for the Congress president position, were expected to be revealed by Wednesday evening.
On the eve of the results, Tharoor raised concerns about “extremely serious irregularities” in the election conduct in Uttar Pradesh, urging the party’s chief election authority to invalidate all votes from the state. Responding to Tharoor’s allegations, Gandhi stated, “We’re the only political party in the country that holds polls and has an election commission. I’ve worked with Mistry Ji (Cong CEC chairman), and he’s straightforward. Issues will be addressed to the EC, who will make a decision.”
