A day after he filed his nomination to contest the Congress presidential election, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Saturday, tendered his resignation as the Leader of Opposition Party (LOP) in the Rajya Sabha abiding by the “one man, one post” principle in line with the party’s Udaipur Chintan Shivir declaration.
He now has only one challenger in his party colleague and MP Shashi Tharoor as the third candidate in the fray KN Tripathi’s candidature was rejected. With this development, AICC sources said senior leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are learnt to be the front-runners to take on the mantle of LOP in the Rajya Sabha.
“I hereby tender my resignation from the post of Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, consequent upon my filing of nomination for the post of president, All India Congress Committee,” Kharge said in his letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.
Former Jharkhand Minister KN Tripathi’s nomination form was rejected by the Congress’s election authority for “not meeting the norms” and “signatures-related issues”.
“Total of 20 forms were submitted yesterday. Of those, the scrutiny committee rejected four forms due to signature issues. There is time till October 8 for withdrawal. The picture would be clearer after that. If no one withdraws, then the voting process will begin,” chairman of Congress’s central election authority Madhusudan Mistry said addressing a press conference at the AICC.
In signs of giving a spirited fight, Tharoor appealed to the eligible voters saying if they wanted a change in the organisation then they should give a chance to him, or if satisfied then they must vote for Kharge. “I’m saying that if you’re satisfied with party’s working, vote for Kharge sahab. If you want change, I’m there. But there’s no ideological problem,” he said.
Both the contestants hail from southern Indian States and party leader Rahul Gandhi is currently undertaking a Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kharge’s home State Karnataka after finishing the leg in Tharoor’s home State Kerala.
When asked about the role of Gandhi family after election of party president, Tharoor said, “Gandhi family and Congress’ DNA is the same...No (party) president is such a fool to tell “Goodbye” to Gandhi family. They are a huge asset to us...”
The party is currently holding the internal elections for the topmost position, for which Friday was the last day for filing the nominations. The 80-year-old leader had received support from nearly 30 Congress leaders, including leaders from the Group of 23 like Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Prithviraj Chavan, who had raised voice for reforms in the party.
The results for the party’s chief post will be declared on October 19 after the counting (if required). With the Gandhis not in the running for the top post this time around, the old party is all set to get a non-Gandhi president after over 25 years.