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Mallikarjun Kharge resigns as LoP, Digvijaya Singh or P Chidambaram may replace him; tough road ahead for Shashi Tharoor

On Friday, the last day of filing the nominations, Digvijaya Singh dropped out of the race after it became clear that his senior, Mallikarjun Kharge,

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Mallikarjun Kharge (File)
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Adhering to the Congress party's 'one person, one post rule', Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge resigned on Saturday -- an indication that he is confident of trumping Shashi Tharoor in Congress presidential elections on October 17. The 80-year-old leader's move has made way for other senior leaders to assume the important role. Even though many names have cropped up since the information of his resignation emerged, P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are reportedly the frontrunners. 

On Friday, the last day of filing the nominations, Digvijaya Singh dropped out of the race after it became clear that his senior, Mallikarjun Kharge, would contest the polls. Jharkhand's KN Tripathi is the third Congressman to have filed the nomination but isn't considered a serious challenge in the triangular contest. 

Ashok Gehlot, who withdrew from Congress's presidential race after 82 of his MLAs threatened to resign fearing Sachin Pilot's accession as Rajasthan Chief Minister, has thrown his weight behind Kharge, a Dalit leader from southern India. Singh and other leaders also announced support for the 80-year-old politician.  

Kharge's nomination was backed by A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, and members of the G-23 ginger group comprising Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan, and Manish Tewari.

Support for the erudite Tharoor is thin within the party. He, however, has made his intentions clear -- he will give the elections a fair shot. 

On Friday, he said he respects Kharge as a leader and the electoral contest between them was in fact a friendly fight. 

On Saturday, Tharoor will begin his campaign and visit the Deekshabhoomi monument in Maharashtra. Ashish Deshmukh, a local leader, said he would pay his tribute to the place where BR Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956. 

On Sunday, Tharoor will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sewagram Ashram at Wardha at 9 am and later go to Vinoba Bhave's Ashram in Pavnar. He will return to Nagpur by 12.45 pm and hold meetings with senior Congress leaders, the party's state unit members, and workers. 

Over 9,100 delegates are eligible to cast their votes in the October 17 election. The result will be announced on October 19.

Optimism notwithstanding, the road to Tharoor is tough.  

Even though the Gandhis have assured neutrality in the elections to Tharoor, they are considered very close to Kharge and the voters are well aware of this fact. 

Kharge is also very close to Rahul Gandhi. He is a Gandhi family loyalist and most likely won't oppose them on any matter. 

He also commands respect in the Congress ranks. 

Tharoor, on the other hand, was a signatory to the explosive G-23 letter that was considered to be a rebellion of sorts against the Gandhis. He has, however, distanced himself from G-23. 

Nor G-23 or other Congressmen have backed Tharoor's nomination. He, however, said that Sonia Gandhi had told him he was welcome to be contesting the internal elections. 

CSDS professor Abhay Dubey told Dainik Bhaskar that making Kharge the party chief is a compulsion as Mrs Gandhi won't trust Tharoor.

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