Mallikarjun Kharge elected as first non-Gandhi Congress chief in 24 years

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is all set to become the first non-Gandhi President of the party in 24 years, as he won 7,897 votes in the recently concluded polls.

Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor got 1,097 votes in the election and conceded defeat to Kharge.

Addressing a press conference later Kharge thanked Sonia Gandhi for her contribution to the party over the years. He also said the party has to work together to defeat those attacking the democracy.

Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters, CEC Madhusudan Mistry said.

The vote counting began at 10am at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi.

This was the sixth election held in the party's 137-year-old history. The last non-Gandhi Congress president was Sitaram Kesri, who was unceremoniously removed in 1998 just after two years into his five-year term.

In a statement, Tharoor said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the hearts of Congress party members. Tharoor later tweeted that he called on Kharge and offered him his full co-operation going forward.

Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi also visited Kharge at his residence and congratulated him. She was accompanied by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

In his congratulatory message, Rahul Gandhi said Kharge represents a "democratic vision" of India. "The Congress President represents a democratic vision of India. His vast experience and ideological commitment will serve the party well as he takes on this historic responsibility," Gandhi said on Twitter.

Kharge is a grassroots politician and hardcore loyalist of the Gandhi family, while Tharoor, a social media pioneer and often outspoken, joined the Congress only in 2009 after a long stint at the United Nations.

Kharge's election also comes at a time the party is reeling under internal rumblings and high-profile exits after a series of electoral debacles and has been reduced to a shadow of its former formidable self. The upcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will be among the first challenges Kharge will face as the party president.