When asked whether Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge would be the grand old party’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kharge, a candidate for the presidency of the Congress, responded cryptically on Wednesday. I’m running in the organizational election, Kharge said in response to the query during a news conference, according to ANI. Bakrid mein bachenge toh Muharram mein nachenge is a proverb. Kharge, who had quit his position as Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to run for president, is set to face another party veteran, Shashi Tharoor. First, let these elections be done, and let me become president.
Even though they are rivals in the election, Kharge claimed that Tharoor and he had no difference and that their main motivation for competing was to win. The 80-year-old stressed, “Both of us will fight together against the BJP.
Kharge had earlier on Tuesday denied Tharoor’s claims that Sonia Gandhi, the interim party president, had chosen him.
I never said that Sonia Gandhi had suggested I run for president. Members of the Gandhi family have made it clear that they would neither participate in the election nor lend their support to any particular candidate, said he.
On October 17, Congress will vote for a new president, and the results will be announced on October 19.
On October 17, the All India Congress Committee will pick a new president. Shashi Tharoor of the Lok Sabha and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Rajya Sabha are running for the top position. Presently, both leaders are traveling to the states to lobby Congress leaders on their behalf to win.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mallikarjun Kharge denied rumors that the Gandhi family was endorsing him in the party’s ongoing presidential race. Kharge made it clear that Sonia Gandhi, the party’s supremo, did not offer his name. He also denied any backing from the party’s interim president or her family.
The elderly statesman continued, This rumor has been manufactured by someone to discredit the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, and me. She has made it clear that she would not endorse any candidates or take part in the party elections.
Kharge claimed earlier on Sunday that the exceedingly dire state of the country is the reason he is contesting the Congress Presidential polls. Because of the poor state of the nation, I want to fight. Amit Shah and PM Modi are practicing politics in an environment where democracy has no place. Organizations like CBI and ED are deteriorating. I must have strength to combat them. Therefore, on the advice of delegates, I am contesting the results, said Kharge.
