Page 10 - Mallikarjun Kharge

After Gandhis refused to fight Prez poll, decided to enter fray: Kharge

Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said he decided to enter the fray for the top post after members of the Gandhi family refused to contest the poll and he wanted to strengthen the party. The electoral contest would take place between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, and voting will take place on October 17 in every state capital through secret ballot. "After the Gandhi family refused to contest the election for the post of Congress president, I decided to contest this election after consulting my well-wishers," said Kharge, who was here to meet members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC). "I decided to contest the election to strengthen the Congress and to save its ideology," Kharge said, adding he was meeting more than 9,000 members of his party across the country and seeking their support. He said that he has prepared his manifesto by incorporating the announcements made at the party's Udaipur Chintan Shivir. "Fifty per cent posts in the organisa

Will give 50% tickets to youth to contest polls: Cong prez candidate Kharge

Congress party's presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge said he will give 50 per cent tickets to youth to contest elections if he becomes the chief of the party

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Kharge promises 'collective decisions' if he becomes Congress President

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the key contestant for the post of the party President, promised that he will give more stress on "collective decisions" in the party if he is elected

Contest with Tharoor is for betterment of country and Congress: Kharge

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said his contest with Shashi Tharoor for the post of party president was aimed at putting forth their viewpoints for the betterment of the country and the party. Kharge said this during an interaction with party delegates at Congress office here, where he sought their support for the AICC presidential election. This is an internal election. It is like two brothers at home, who are not fighting, but placing their points of view and trying to persuade each other, he said. The Congress party veteran said the election campaign was not about what a particular candidate will do if he becomes the president of the party, but what they can do together. My belief is... What I will do is not the question. The question is what we both will do together for the country and for the party, this is important. Let us not talk about whether I will do this or that, or talk about someone else. How will you (party workers) and me together make the party ...

Contesting Congress prez poll as no Gandhi member running for post: Kharge

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday expressed regret that none from the Gandhi family was running for the party chief's post and said he took the plunge on advice of all in the party. As part of his campaign for the AICC presidential post, Kharge visited the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in Vijayawada. Kharge said he played a long innings in Karnataka politics and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 on the advice of current party president Sonia Gandhi. "Election for the Congress president's post became inevitable as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka refused to take it up. So I have jumped into the fray for the president's post on the advice of all in the party," Kharge told reporters after addressing the AP Congress leaders. "I served as Union Labour and Social Justice minister," he said and also mentioned his tenure as Congress party leader in Lok Sabha. Kharge said he would implement the Udaipur Declaration of offering 50 per cent of p

Both poll contenders people of stature, neither can be controlled: Rahul

As Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor fight it out for the Congress chief's post, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described both as people of stature and understanding, and asserted that it was insulting to suggest that either of them can be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family as party president. Addressing a press conference here during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said lakhs of people have joined the yatra as they are tired of the type of politics being done under the BJP and the prevailing unemployment, price rise and economic inequality. A day after Gautam Adani pledged huge investments in Rajasthan, Gandhi, who has often accused the Modi government of favouring the industrialist, said the Congress government in the state has not given any preferential treatment to the businessman, and asserted that he is not against corporates but monopolies. Asked about criticism from certain quarters that the next Congress president could be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family, the former part

Will implement Udaipur Declaration if I win, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Amid suggestions that Congress should be led by a young leader, AICC presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he would implement the Udaipur Declaration's proposal of offering 50 per cent of party posts to those below 50 years of age if he wins the poll. "It's not for post in Congress. Many people who left, they left due to fear of ED, CBI, and income tax. For youngsters, as I said, in the Udaipur Declaration, we promised to give 50 per cent of seats to those below 50 years and I will do. When everyone is wanting to make me occupy this place, I thank them," he told reporters here. He was replying to a query about the argument that 80-year-old Kharge is replacing Sonia Gandhi, who is 75 years old, and that a young leader should lead the Congress. Kharge was in Hyderabad as part of his campaign for the AICC president's post. Asked about the ruling TRS in Telangana renaming itself as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and deciding to go national, he said several regional

TRS can't become national party by changing name, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) cannot become a national party by changing its name.

Calling Kharge or Tharoor remote control is insulting, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has countered BJP on party presidential polls and said that both the contestants have statures of their own

LIVE news: Calling Kharge or Tharoor remote control insulting, says Rahul

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Kharge rubbishes talk of him being 'Sonia's remote control', slams BJP

Senior Congress leader and candidate for the party's presidential polls Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said there is no such thing as "remote control" in his party unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party, where every president is selected through a "consensus". In the city to campaign for the election to the party's top post, Kharge asserted that if becomes the head of the grand old party, the remote control would be with him. He was replying to a query about the BJP's claim that he would act as the "remote control" and "proxy" of Sonia Gandhi after being elected to the post. "A lot of people say I am a remote control and work from behind. They say I will do what Sonia Gandhi will say. There is no such thing as remote control in Congress, people take decisions together. It is your thinking. A few people are creating this idea," Kharge said. Attacking the BJP, he said, "How many times has the prime minister held (party president's) election? All the presidents were selected through consensu

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Democracy at work: How various national parties elect their leaders

While the leaders of bigger national parties like BJP and INC have limitation to their powers, smaller parties tend to give wholesome control to their leaders

Tharoor picks 'Reinvent Cong' slogan, rules out differences with Kharge

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday asserted that a reimagined party is needed to take on the BJP, while seeking support from party electors for his candidacy to the post of party chief. Tharoor, who is canvassing for his candidature among party delegates, ruled out ideological difference with veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also in the presidential race. "Let me make clear that I agree with @kharge ji that all of us in @incIndia wish to take on the BJP rather than each other. There is no ideological difference between us. The choice for our voting colleagues Oct 17 is only on how to do it most effectively," Tharoor said in a tweet. His remarks comes a day after Kharge said he conveyed to Tharoor that a consensus candidate would be better, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the "sake of democracy". Tharoor, who is in Hyderabad in connection with his campaign for Congress presidential poll, said he has "enormous" respect for his rival Kharge. "I believe we

Congress president's election: Uncertain times ahead for the party

The election of Kharge as Congress president is almost certain. From here on, if the Congress does not improve its poor electoral performance, a challenge could emerge to the Gandhi family leadership

The great big election: A non-Gandhi to head Congress after over 2 decades

The new president will be elected on October 17 and October 19 will bring the answer

Told Tharoor better to have consensus candidate: Mallikarjun Kharge

Nominee for the Congress president post Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the "sake of democracy". Kharge said if he becomes the party chief, he will consult the Gandhi family and other senior leaders and implement the good things suggested by them, even as he rejected claims that he was the "official candidate" backed by the Gandhis. Launching his Congress presidential poll campaign with a press conference at his residence here, 80-year-old Kharge said there is no G-23 camp now and all those leaders want to fight unitedly against the RSS-BJP and therefore are supporting him. Several dissident leaders such as Bhupinder Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Prithviraj Chavan of the group of 23, which had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 for large scale organisational reform, have put their weight behind Kharge by becoming his ...

Mallikarjun Kharge 'officially starts' campaigning for Congress prez post

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is one of the contenders for the party's top post, announced his "official start" to the election campaign

Open to public debate between Cong prez poll candidates: Shashi Tharoor

Set for an electoral face-off with Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge for the AICC chief's post, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said he would be open to the idea of a public debate between the candidates as it would evoke people's interest in the party in a manner similar to the recent British Conservative Party leadership race. He also said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held and will always hold a special place in the hearts of Congress party members. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said the answer to the Congress' current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organisational reforms. Kharge and Tharoor were left in the fray in the Congress presidential poll after former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi's nomination was rejected on Saturday. Talking about what he brings to the table, Tharoor said, "I have a proven and credible track record in leading at the highest levels of organisations, whether it has been at the UN, where, as the under-secretary ..