NEW DELHI: After 22 years the Congress party is all set to see a contest for the AICC president post today, October 17, with senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and the ‘intellectual’ Dr. Shashi Tharoor pitted against each other to lead the party with new enthusiasm so as to fulfill the aim of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the results will be announced on October 19. "All of the delegates will vote at their own polling places by putting a "tick" next to the candidate they want to win. Plans have been made to make it easy to vote, "said Madhusudan Mistry, the head of the Central Election Authority and the Congress.

"On October 18, the ballot boxes will reach Delhi, and on October 19, the votes will be counted. There is also a polling place set up at AICC, where more than 50 people will vote. Without a doubt, the whole voting process will be fair and free, he added. It is not the first time since independence that a leader who is not Gandhi is running for the party presidency. Jitendra Prasad ran against Sonia Gandhi for president about 22 years ago. Sonia Gandhi won, and she has been in charge of the party for the past 20 years.

On the other hand, Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor took a subtle shot at the Kharge camp on Sunday, saying that some colleagues were "doing netagiri" and telling party workers that they knew who Sonia Gandhi wanted to be elected. If anyone has "fear or doubt," the party has made it clear that it will be a secret ballot, he said, and he asked the Congress delegates to vote for the new party president by following their hearts.

"I also asked Sonia Gandhi what she thought about the upcoming elections. She said that it was good for the party and that you should fight with all your courage (himmat), but that we would not take sides." She had said that their side won't have an official candidate "Tharoor told reporters at the office of the Uttar Pradesh Congress.

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