Kharge or Tharoor: Who has an edge?

The two candidates spoke to each other over the phone in the morning and wished each other success and noting that whoever will win, the process will end up strengthening the party, reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:As around 9,000 PCC delegates voted to elect the new Congress president on Monday, the question of who had an edge, Mallikarjun Kharge or Shashi Tharoor, was being discussed within the party circles. The results would be out on October 19 after the counting of votes at the AICC headquarters.

Though both sides had been claiming victory during the campaigning, the two candidates spoke to each other over the phone in the morning and wished each other success and noting that whoever will win, the process will end up strengthening the party.

Earlier, the Tharoor camp sought votes in the name of change to appeal to the youngsters in the grand old party. The Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP said those who supported Kharge would opt for the status quo.

On his part, Kharge cited his five decades of public service and association with the party to play up the need to defend the Congress ideology at a time when the organization faced many challenges. According to party insiders, the unofficially “official” candidate Kharge had an edge as he had the single most important determinant, the blessings of the Gandhi family, behind him.

Kharge repeatedly denied that he was asked by the Gandhis to contest the polls but the silent message of what the party’s first family wished percolated down to the rank and file and showed when a host of top Congress leaders had lined up to endorse Kharge’s nomination.

Those who supported Kharge included Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal, Digvijay Singh, P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, PL Punia, AK Antony, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Salman Khurshid among others.

In sharp contrast, Tharoor only had a handful of supporters and the top leaders were conspicuous by their absence when the Lok Sabha MP filed his nomination shortly before the veteran.

Later, several party spokespersons and leaders including Syed Naseer Hussain, Deepender Hooda and Prof Gourav Vallabh resigned from the party post to campaign for Kharge. No such names came out in support of Tharoor, indicating which way the wind was blowing within the party as far as the presidential polls were concerned.

Over the past days, a whisper campaign went on within the party in favour of Kharge prompting Tharoor to point out the difference in treatment that the two candidates were getting from the respective state units, despite clear cut instructions from the Central Election Authority to accord similar courtesies to both the candidates.

Tharoor’s charge of no level playing field was denied by the CEC chairman Madhusudan Mistry who said no complaint had come to him over the matter. Indeed, it was hard to prove the charge for Tharoor.

According to party insiders, another pointer to the effect of hidden blessings of the Gandhi family in the party polls was the joining of some senior dissenters like Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari endorsing Kharge’s nomination.

A few days before the polling, Tewari even made a public appeal to the PCC delegates in favour of Kharge saying the veteran was the most appropriate candidate to helm the grand old in present times. Interestingly, Tewari had no such kind words for his G23 and former UPA government colleague Tharoor.

Before Tewari, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot threw his weight behind Kharge when he urged the PCC delegates to support the veteran who had a five decades old career in public life, contributed to the party immensely and was the most suited to unite the opposition against the BJP ahead of the 2024 national elections.

Though Kharge repeatedly played down queries that he was chosen due to his Dalit origins, prominent Dalit leader from Haryana Kumari Selja even argued that a person like Kharge should be elected party president unanimously, in a clear hint to Tharoor to opt out of the race.

According to party insiders, another factor which gave an edge to Kharge was the image of Gandhi family confidante that he carried in comparison to Tharoor who was seen by many as a challenger to the existing high command.

For the party leaders who wish that the Gandhis remain a central figure in the Congress, Kharge appeared to be more open to consulting the Gandhis over key decisions than Tharoor.

A preference for Kharge would also indicate reluctance within the party to sudden changes in the way the organization functions against the fast-paced solutions suggested by Tharoor, who has never worked in the party.

Finally, both Tharoor and Kharge got a chance to walk beside Rahul Gandhi who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra but the timing of the veteran was crucial. As Kharge walked beside Rahul in Karnataka on Sunday, the picture probably conveyed a message among the rank and file.

According to party insiders, Rahul would continue to lead the party but will have to work in tandem with the new president. In this backdrop, Kharge would prove to be a better teammate than Tharoor, they added.