"Party is strengthened by our contest..." says Shashi Tharoor after meeting Mallikarjun Kharge

New Delhi [India], October 19 (ANI): As Congress' veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge swept the party's presidential polls on Wednesday, his rival in the election, Shashi Tharoor, congratulated him and said that their contest had strengthened the party.
Later, he went to the New Delhi residence of the Congress President-elect to congratulate him on his victory.
Taking to Twitter, Tharoor said that he called on the new Congress President and congratulated him.
"Called on our new President-elect Mallikarjun @kharge to congratulate him & offer him my full co-operation. @incIndia has been strengthened by our contest," he said.
Tharoor said he believed "the revival of the party begins today". "It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be President of the INC and I wish Kharge ji all success in the task," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram tweeted.
In a statement issued just after the announcement of the poll result, Tharoor said, "Our new President is our party colleague and senior who brings ample leadership and experience to the table. Under his guidance, I am confident we can all collectively take the party to new heights."
Chairman of the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) Madhusudan Mistry today declared Mallikarjun Kharge as the elected President of the party.
"The total counted votes were 9,385, of which Mallikarjun Kharge received 7,897 votes and Shashi Tharoor received 1,072 votes. 416 were invalid votes. As per Article 18 (D) of the Constitution of Indian National, I hereby declare Mallikarjun Kharge as the elected President of Congress," said Mistry.
Praising Sonia Gandhi, Tharoor said, "At this crucial time in the party's history and for our collective future, we owe an irredeemable debt to our outgoing President, Sonia Gandhi, for her quarter century of the leadership of the party and for being our anchor during our most crucial moments. Her decision to authorise this election process, which has given us new pathways to the future, is undoubtedly a fitting testament to her sagacity and vision for our party."
Ahead of Wednesday's counting of votes for the presidential election, the Shashi Tharoor camp approached the party's election authority alleging that it suspected "extremely serious irregularities" in Uttar Pradesh on the day of the polling and demanded that all votes from the state be deemed invalid.
In a letter to Congress Central Authority Chairman Madhusudan Mistry, Salman Soz the election agent to Tharoor who has been pitted against Mallikarjun Kharge in the race for the party's top post has written about "disturbing facts" including "reports of minor violations" guidelines in a few states on Monday, when the polling was held.
In the letter dated October 18, Soz said" Our campaign wants to bring to your attention extremely serious irregularities in the conduct of the election in the state of Uttar Pradesh. As you will see, the facts are damning and the election process in UP is devoid of credibility and integrity. I have already conveyed some of this to you in a telephone conversation yesterday evening."
"We do not see how this election can be deemed free and fair if the tainted process of Uttar Pradesh is allowed to stand. We, therefore, demand that all votes from Uttar Pradesh be deemed invalid. Whether you wish to declare that publicly or not, we leave to your good judgment. We reserve the right to do what we believe is in the best interests of the party, Soz wrote.
For the first time in 24 years, the party has got a chief who does not belong to the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The new president will take place of Sonia Gandhi who has been serving as interim president after Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the post following the party's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress sources also said the elected president will take charge after Diwali in the presence of senior leaders in a programme at the Congress headquarters.
Meanwhile, ahead of the declaration of results for the party's top post, the Shashi Tharoor camp approached the party's election authority alleging that it suspected "extremely serious irregularities" in Uttar Pradesh on the day of the polling and demanded that all votes from the state be deemed invalid.
In a letter to Congress Central Authority Chairman Madhusudan Mistry, Salman Soz the election agent to Tharoor wrote about "disturbing facts" including "reports of minor violations" guidelines in a few states including Uttar Pradesh during the polling on Monday.
The ex-Member of Parliament (MP) Salman Anees Soz in his letter underlined that they had no evidence that Mallikarjun Kharge was aware of how his supporters were engaging in electoral malpractice in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)