DNA Explainer: In Kharge vs Tharoor, Congress votes today; know how the party elects its president and who votes

As the Congress votes today to pick a non-Gandhi president in over 24 years, the Gandhis not only seek revival ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but also overcome the widespread perception of familyism and dynasty politics, as charged time and again by the opposition. 

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor will face-off in the electoral contest today as voting takes place at the AICC headquarters in Delhi and at over 65 polling booths across the country. 

Notably, this will be the sixth time in the Congress’ 137-year history that the party is set to witness a contest for the top post which has been held by Sonia Gandhi since 1998, except for the period December 2017 to July 2019 when Rahul Gandhi took over the reigns in his hands. Ever since Rahul stepped down, his mother returned to the helm and has been serving as the interim chief of the party. 

Congress presidential poll - The process

Section XVIII of the Congress Constitution states that the Chairman of the CEA is the ex-Officio Returning Officer for the election of the President. The process involves the Block Congress Committees, which elect delegates to the Pradesh Congress Committes (PCC), who in turn elect delegates to the AICC. Delegates to the AICC include former PCC presidents who have held office for at least a year and continue to be members of the party. 

Once the nomination process has concluded, the chairman of the party’s Central Election Authority publishes the names of the candidates who are in fray. 

Any 10 delegates can propose the name of any delegate for the post. Those who do not withdraw their candidacy within seven days will be in the race for the post and their names will appear on the ballot. In case only one candidate remains, the person shall be declared elected. The key here remains the list of delegates who comprise the electoral college.   

The polling is held at the PCC headquarters of each state. The counting of vote is done under single transferable vote, and the candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the president.

Congress' central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Wednesday that the Congress presidential polls will be held by a secret ballot and no one will get to know who voted for whom. He had asserted that a level-playing field had been ensured for both candidates.

Mistry had also demonstrated to reporters the ballot boxes, ballot paper and how the votes would be cast.

He had said the sealed boxes would be transported to Delhi, kept in a strong room at the AICC headquarters and opened in Delhi. The ballot papers would be mixed before counting starts. Kharge and Tharoor not only possess contrasting demeanour but have had an equally disparate political journey.

Who votes in the election?

Some 9,000 delegates to the electoral college are eligible to vote in the exercise. Recently, Tharoor along with a section of the party suggested that the party makes public the list of delegates for transparency in the election process. 

A non-Gandhi president -- need of the hour?

Speaking to DNA India, Rasheed Kidwai, senior journalist and writer of the book "24 Akbar Road", opined that election of a non-Gandhi as the party president “will be a major vote of no-confidence against Rahul Gandhi.” 

“Technically speaking, this non-Gandhi thing is technically very plausible and something which is very good, but it has some technical problem,” he added. 

Kidwai states that the key issue before the party today is about the political leadership which has always been with the Nehru-Gandhi family. 

On whether a non-Gandhi president will be able to pull the party out of the unending crisis situation, renowned journalist Dr Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay tells DNA India: “If it is a free and fair election where anybody is allowed to contest, then I think that is the best that can happen to the Congress. We cannot have any political party which becomes dependent on one individual or one family.