Kharge vs Tharoor as Congress set for non-Gandhi president after 24 years

Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge. File Pic

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor will face-off in an electoral contest on Monday for the post of AICC chief, as the party gets set to have a non-Gandhi president in more than 24 years.

Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot.

Voting would take place at the AICC headquarters here and at over 65 polling booths across the country in an electoral contest which is taking place for the sixth time in the party's 137-year history.

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While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the AICC headquarters here, Rahul Gandhi will be voting at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' campsite in Karnataka's Sanganakallu in Ballari along with around 40 other 'Bharat Yatris' who are PCC delegates.

Tharoor will cast his vote at the Kerala Congress headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, while Kharge will do so at the Karnataka Congress office in Bengaluru.

Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.

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