Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge officially takes charge as Congress president
Having served in three different capacities as leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, and later as leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Kharge is taking on his new role at a time when the party is at a historic low, electorally.
FollowVeteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday officially took charge as the Congress president at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in the national capital.
The certificate of election to the top post was handed over by Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and party's General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with other senior leaders and MPs were present at the occasion.
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On Wednesday morning, preparations were underway at the Congress headquarters for the ceremony. Kharge is the first non-Gandhi to lead the party in 24 years.
After the Gandhis decided not to run, Kharge defeated Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a direct contest for the top post in the grand old party.
On Wednesday, Kharge paid visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He also visited memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram.
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Kharge, 80, assumes the leadership of the party at a time when the party is facing a tough challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP, which has ousted Congress from a number of states.
Having served in three different capacities as leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, and later as leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Kharge is taking on his new role at a time when the party is at a historic low, electorally.
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Now that the Congress is in power only in two states, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh alone, as well as in a junior partner capacity in Jharkhand, Kharge's first challenge is to ensure that the party comes to power in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.
The Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections will take place on November 12. There has been no announcement of the dates for the Gujarat elections.
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