The nomination papers filed by Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharg and former Union minister Shashi Tharoor for Friday’s Congress presidential election were a study in contrasts. The Karnataka leader had the support of both Gandhi family loyalists and the G23 group of leaders pushing for internal reforms. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, on the other hand, refused to reveal the names of his backers and one of the leaders supporting his candidature said they were being pressured to change their minds.
A candidate needs 10 proponents to contest the October 17 poll. Kharge, 80, filed 14 pages of petitioners who included some of the top Congress leaders. These included Gandhi family loyalists AK Antony and Ambika Soni, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot – who quit the race last week following an uprising by his supporters – and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who withdrew his candidature after Kharge’s name became public . on Friday.
Many G23 leaders – Mukul Wasnik, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan and Manish Tewari – were also on Kharge’s side. “We have just written a letter, we are not part of any group,” Hooda said, referring to a June 2020 letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding changes in the party. “It means nothing. We supported an old colleague.” Sharma and Tewari, who have been criticizing the Congress leadership since August 2020 for not bringing reforms, did not respond to queries.
In contrast, Tharoor filed five pages of petitioners. This included Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram, Kishanganj MP Mohammed Jawed and Nawgong MP Pradyut Bordoloi. Tharoor attended several G23 meetings but did not seem to find support in most of them. “One of the petitioners from Uttar Pradesh has already been asked to reconsider their support and they’ve had a lot of questions,” said one other petitioner on Tharoor’s list, adding, “That’s why we’ll release the list once it’s reviewed and all the paperwork is done.’ ‘ Nominations will be checked on Saturday.
A third candidate, former Jharkhand minister KN Tripathi, filed a single side of the petitioners. Officially, the Congress has said that the Gandhi family does not favor any particular candidate and wants free and fair elections. “They (the Gandhis) are very clear that they are not supporting candidate A, B or C,” said party poll chief Madhusudhan Mistry. But it was clear that the Gandhi family loyalists were on Kharge’s side.
One of Kharge’s suitors, Antony, has been instrumental in negotiating with various bidders over the past few days. In fact, he was brought back from retirement to find a suitable successor for Sonia Gandhi, who has been serving as the interim president of the party since 2019. “Khargeji’s outstanding service to the party and the country is well known. He is not surprised by the support he is getting from the familiar faces of INC. With few exceptions, Dr Tharoor’s name is suggested by Congress workers. They are not much known but they have voice and vote,” Congress chief Salman Soz tweeted.
