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Mallikarjun Kharge defeats fellow Congress politician Shashi Tharoor to change into the primary Dalit to carry the place.
India’s opposition Congress social gathering elected a former minister on Wednesday as its first president in 24 years not from the Gandhi dynasty, in an effort to reverse its electoral decline amid the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP).
Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, was appointed by members over fellow politician Shashi Tharoor, a former under-secretary basic for communications and public info on the United Nations, to switch Sonia Gandhi as president of the once-dominant social gathering that gained India’s independence from British rule 75 years in the past.
He’s additionally the primary Dalit, folks often called “untouchables” below India’s discriminatory caste system, to steer the social gathering.
Congress ruled India for many years after independence from Britain in 1947. The Gandhi household descended from the nation’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi additionally went on to change into prime minister. Her son Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her after her assassination in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a Tamil suicide bomber in 1991.
Referred to as on our new President-elect Mallikarjun @kharge to congratulate him & supply him my full co-operation. @incIndia has been strengthened by our contest. pic.twitter.com/fwfk41T93q
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 19, 2022
After back-to-back defeat to the BJP in 2014 and 2019, Rahul Gandhi – Rajiv’s son – resigned as social gathering president and handed the presidency again to his Italian-born mom, Sonia Gandhi. She was first appointed to the function in 1998 earlier than her son took over.
The social gathering was diminished to only 53 seats within the 543-member decrease home of parliament whereas the BJP gained 303 seats in 2019 basic elections.
Kharge, a veteran politician, was born 5 years earlier than independence and is broadly believed to have the backing of each Sonia and Rahul.
He now faces the mammoth problem of successful the following nationwide election, due in 2024, and three state elections subsequent 12 months.
That features in his residence state of Karnataka, the place he personally has gained 11 of the dozen elections he has contested throughout his lengthy profession within the Congress social gathering.
‘Ample management’
Tharoor congratulated Kharge and mentioned that being Congress president was a “nice honour amd an enormous duty”, wishing Kharge “all success within the job”.
“Our president is a celebration colleague and senior who brings ample management and expertise to the desk,” he mentioned in an announcement posted on Twitter. “Underneath his steerage, I’m assured that we will all collectively take the social gathering to new heights.”
Neelanjan Sircar, a senior fellow on the Centre for Coverage Analysis think-tank, mentioned the change on the prime was a big step for the social gathering.
“This symbolic change of the president is a really highly effective second for the Congress,” Sircar advised Reuters information company.
“Its need to alter should mirror in organisational change on the bottom.”
Rahul Gandhi, talking shortly earlier than the social gathering election end result was introduced, advised reporters the brand new chief would name the photographs.
“The Congress president is the supreme authority within the Congress social gathering … Each member experiences to them,” he mentioned, in response to Reuters.
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