Curtains Fall on Game of Thrones as Kharge, Tharoor Square Off Today. But How is Cong Prez Elected?

The stage is set for the long-awaited contest for the post of Congress chief, a crown grudgingly worn by Sonia Gandhi since her son Rahul Gandhi stepped down in the face of the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2019 elections.

Monday will see Congress veteran and Gandhi loyalist Mallikarjun Kharge square off with Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a battle that has been lopsided since the start — from public endorsements, support of the dissenting group G-23 to carefully crafted optics, it seems to be a no-brainer that the scales are tipped in favour of Kharge.

As Congress readies for the historic battle, which will give the party a non-Gandhi president in more than 24 years, News18 takes a look at how the process works:

HOW IS THE CONGRESS PRESIDENT ELECTED?

Congress claims to be the only party to elect its president. Congress general secretary Ajay Maken had earlier said the presidential election will take place according to the party’s rules. “Everyone should be satisfied as there are no elections in any political party. Has anyone heard about the election of JP Nadda in the BJP, has anyone heard about the election of Amit Shah?” he had asked.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates vote for the president and block presidents vote for the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which is the party’s top decision-making body.

There is one delegate per block in each state and the blocks are ones notified by the government. The number of PCC delegates is different for each state, depending on the number of blocks. For any person to file a nomination, at least 10 PCC delegates have to propose his or her name. These delegates will vote for the president in states they belong to.

The constitution of Congress defines “all members of the PCC” as delegates of the Indian National Congress (INC).

There are six ways in which a person can become a PCC member as defined by the constitution. The INC delegates choose the Congress president from among nominated candidates.

The chairperson of the party’s election authority is the returning officer for the election, who sends the list of nominated candidates to each state unit, or PCC, after seven days from the filing of nominations. The returning officer waits to see if any candidate wants to withdraw their nomination. If only one candidate remains after withdrawal of nominations, the person is automatically elected president.

If the case is not so and there are two candidates, INC delegates choose their preferred candidate. If there are more than two, delegates indicate preference for at least two out of the total number of candidates.

The elections are held in the PCC headquarters of each state and counting of votes is based on the principle of single transferable vote. The candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the president of the Congress.

WILL RAHUL GANDHI VOTE?

The party’s Communications General Secretary In-charge Jairam Ramesh has confirmed that Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in Karnataka as part of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, will be voting from a campsite in Ballari along with 40 other delegates who are part of the Yatra.

“There’ve been queries on where @RahulGandhi will cast his vote tomorrow for Congress Presidential election. There should be no speculation. He will be voting at the #BharatJodoYatra campsite in Sanganakallu, Ballari along with around 40 other Bharat Yatris who are PCC delegates,” he said on Twitter.

PRIORITIES FOR KHARGE, THAROOR

Kharge has said he does not have any separate poll manifesto and his only agenda is to implement the declaration adopted by the party at the ‘Chintan Shivir’ held in Rajasthan earlier in the year. The Congress had held a three-day brainstorming session in May in Rajasthan’s Udaipur to evolve the party’s strategy for its overhaul and revival in the wake of a series of electoral defeats.

He promised to offer 50 per cent of party posts to those below 50 years of age if he wins the poll. Kharge said he believed in a collective approach and in taking along everyone, including youth and women and would work with all members to take the party to new heights.

The octogenarian further said he would take efforts to resolve issues concerning farmers, workers, SC, ST, OBCs, minorities and small businessmen. He also said there should be a fight against PSUs disinvestment, rising unemployment, decline in rupee value, price rise and GST on essential items.

Meanwhile, stating that leaders like Kharge cannot bring change and will continue the existing system, Tharoor promised to bring change in the party as per expectations of workers.

He suggested that the Congress must rejuvenate itself, particularly by bringing in fresh faces and young blood into its leadership at all levels—village, block, district and state as well as national.

He proposed the decentralisation of the organistion and said the Congress must give real authority to the PCC presidents and empower grassroots office-bearers of the party.

In his manifesto, he said that the Congress must have a full-time president who is accessible to all and suggested five Vice-Presidents from different regions.

He also pledged to implement Udaipur declaration including the “one person one post” rule, term limits for party positions, 50% tickets for those under 50, and increased representation for women, youth, SC/ST/OBCs and minorities in party position.

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