Congress President Election 2022: Mallikarjun Kharge Elected

In 24 years, this was the first time that Congress members assembled across the country to elect their first non-Gandhi president. The leadership crisis in the Congress party has generated buzz lately, & it became all set for its first competitive presidential election, choosing between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor. Moreover, this will mark the first time since Sonia Gandhi took the reins in 1998 that someone from outside the family will take charge as the party’s President, founded in 1885.

According to recent updates, Mallikarjun Kharge has been elected as the new Congress President. According to his speech, he is eager to involve youngsters in the decision-making process. He will focus on the issues related to farmers, women and all social groups.

When was the Indian National Congress (INC) formed?

The Indian National Congress party was established in 1885 and became one of the most prominent political parties in pre-independence India. The first session of the INC was held in 1885. On 28th December 1885, the first session of the Indian National Congress (INC) was held in Bombay. It was started by a retired British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume, and Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha.

First President of INC

Congress, the oldest party in India, founded by the efforts of Englishmen A.O. Hume in 1885, was the only party which had natives as members. Womesh Chandra Banerjee was the first President of the Indian National Congress.

Why was Congress's Presidential election held?

• The election was being held as Sonia Gandhi’s son Rahul Gandhi quit as the President after Congress suffered a bad thrash in the 2019 general election, leaving the party without an official chief. 

• However, Sonia Gandhi has been serving as interim President, with Rahul Gandhi being only a de facto leader.

• The election was held with the hope of losing the grip of the BJP government from power. 

• The candidates were Mallikarjun Kharge, a member of the Rajya Sabha, and Shashi Tharoor, a three-time member of Parliament from Kerala and former international civil servant respectively.

Who can elect the Congress President?

According to Article XVIII of the Congress Constitution, the Congress President is elected by Indian National Congress (INC) delegates across several party-state committees. But who are these?

• Under Article VIII and its sub-clauses, these delegates to the Block Congress Committee are elected from the members of the Primary Committee. But who are the members of Primary Committee?

• The members of the Primary Committee are elected from those enrolled as Congress party members, fulfilling all conditions enshrined under Article V(A)(b) of the Congress Constitution. 

• Any person of the age of 18 or over can become a Congress member for five years by paying Rs 5 and signing the declaration form.

• So, these delegates to the Block Congress Committee further elect a delegate to the State committee or Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) via secret ballot.

• Other PCC members comprise ex-PCC presidents, DCC presidents, All India Congress Committee (AICC) members in that area, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) members, and co-opted members. 

How is the Congress President elected?

After eliminating all published candidates, if only one nominated member stays, he shall be declared duly elected president. In case of a contest (more than one candidate), on the date fixed by the CWC, each delegate is subjected to vote for the President through ballot paper at the PCC office headquarters in each state. If there are two or more candidates, the delegate can vote for one. If there are more than two candidates, the delegate can mark his preferred candidates by ranking them 1, 2 and so on.

The PCC will forward all ballot boxes to the AICC, the party’s apex deciding committee - and any candidate who gets more than 50% of the votes as the first preference is elected President.

List of Congress Presidents to date

Conclusion

The elections have taken a controversial turn since there will be a non-Gandhi president after over two decades. Also, after a long time, two candidates, Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, stood up for the Presidential elections out of which Mallikarjun has won the elections with 7897 votes. It is alleged that Mallikarjun’s been favoured by the Gandhis. He believes in youth empowerment and the emphasis would be on farmers and women related issues. Let’s see what happens in his presidency.