Result of election for new Cong president to be announced today

New Delhi: After more than two decades, the Congress is all set to get a non-Gandhi head, as result of the election to the top post, counting of votes for which is being taken up today, are announced later in the day.

The two candidates for the coveted post are Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor.

Sonia Gandhi has been occupying the post of party president since 1998, while Rahul Gandhi also occupied the post for a brief period, but had and resigned following the drubbing the party received in 2019 poll.

Before the counting begins, all the ballot papers are mixed so that the number of votes received by any candidate from a particular state is not known.

The party rank and files were divided on the issue. While a section wanted that a non-Gandhi should head the party this time, a large number of party workers wanted a person only from the Gandhi family. However, Rahul Gandhi refused to hold the post again.

The new president would be facing a stupendous job to strengthen the party organisation, especially at the grass root level, weakaness at which has cost the party dear during the successive elections. Political obervers strongly feel that the party needs a new orientation and tremendous efforts to regain the ground it has lost over the decades.

The Congress founded by A O Hume on December 28, 1885, played a leading role in the freedom movement, and ruled at the Centre for about three decades without a break. It was only in 1977 that the Congress was rule was replaced by the janata partry, an amalgam of different political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. However, infighting in the party led to its fall, and the Congress returned with a thumping majority in 1980 again. I

—INDIA NEWS STREAM