ADVANTAGE KHARGE

Veteran leader from Karnataka Mallikarjun Kharge is the favourite to defeat writer and orator Shashi Tharoor in the Congress presidential poll scheduled for tomorrow, writes Sachidananda Gautam

The Indian National Congress is set to get its first nonGandhi president since 1998 at a time when it is confronted with an existential crisis, which, on the one hand, threatens to make the country’s oldest party extinct, and on the other, propels it to reinvent and make itself relevant in the dramatically changing political landscape.

Since 2014, the Congress has been facing a huge crisis. While the party won only 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it added eight more seats (52) in the polls held five years later (2019). During this period, the party lost power in many States, where it was the dominant force. Rank and files deserted the party which resulted in the vote share drop.

Now, the party is expected to make a fresh start and look at newer ways to tackle the BJP under the new leadership. Some political analysts, who are eager to write off Congress, are arguing that the party is done and dusted and there is no future for it. Others feel that with the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi is making news and providing hope for the people of the country and party workers.

In this context, the Congress presidential poll is being viewed as a move by the party to reorganise itself, after a long time. Veteran leader from Karnataka Mallikarjun Khrage, who is loyal to the Gandhi family, is taking on Parliament member from Kerala Shashi Tharoor in the election, in which 9100-plus delegates are set to cast their votes, is scheduled for October 17 (Monday).

The result will be out on October 19. It is significant that both Kharge and Tharoor are from South India and both of them are representing non-Hindi speaking states. Though Tharoor was part of G-23 (the group of 23 leaders who urged Sonia Gandhi to bring in reforms and transparency in the leadership), the partisan group is now supporting Kharge.

The group’s leaders, such as Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Bhupinder Hooda, were present when Kharge filed nomination. According to sources in the Congress, both Sonia Gandhi and Kharge, who knew that the support of G-23 leaders is essential for a victory, reached out to them and the meeting appeared to have yielded desired results.

But G-23 leaders had clarified that this gesture doesn’t mean they have sacrificed their demand for a free and fair election to the Congress Working Committee. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have promised a fair election to Tharoor and in uncertain terms, assured him that the family will be neutral and the party machinery will be impartial. However, Gandhis’ stand will not ensure Tharoor the victory. Gandhis are always open to an elitist with the common touch.

This combination was the stuff of India’s freedom struggle. Some leaders expect the party to emerge stronger because of this stand, while others remain sceptical about possible dual power centres as the Gandhis are seen as the glue that binds the party together. Congress election is making noise even in states, where it has little presence, such as Tamil Nadu.

Posters calling upon the voters to elect Kharge for the top post are seen in various parts of Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, which passed a unanimous resolution backing Rahul Gandhi, is now supporting Kharge after a majority shunned a meeting called by fellow contestant Tharoor.

Front runner- The party’s rank and file strongly believe that Kharge is Gandhis’ favourite. Appointing him as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019, and making him Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha testifies this.

Kharge played an active role in the protests when Rahul was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for five days and over 50 hours in June and Sonia for three days in July. Regardless of his age, Kharge was present during the protests on the streets and was detained by the police. On the contrary, Tharoor is not a Congress family loyalist. According to top Congress leaders, Kharge has all the credentials to head the century-old party and show a meaningful direction to it. Kharge is known for his value-based politics and has a clean image.

His criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is based on facts and rationale. He is consistently speaking in favour of the alignment of non-BJP parties to fight the communal, anti-democratic and anti-constitutional decisions of Modi. Kharge was elected to Karnataka legislative Assembly nine consecutive times and elected to Lok Sabha twice from Kalaburagi Parliamentary Constituency. He has a reputation of being a no-nonsense leader from Karnataka, who enjoys vast experience that will help the party in reclaiming lost glory, especially in K