All you need to know about the two Congress presidential candidates

File image of Congress party office in Delhi (Reuters photo)

After many political turns and a long period of turbulence, the Indian National Congress (INC) has finally completed its first phase of holding elections for the post of party president.

Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge have joined the fray after filing their nominations at the All India Congress Committee office on Friday. However, Kharge’s last minute entry is not seen as “inspirational” by many.

As elections were announced by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in August, Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor was quick to express his interest. On the other side, the high command’s potential candidate for the post was Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who backed out of the race on Thursday.

Tharoor, a three-time MP, is seen as a leader who can talk about the party’s ideology and strengthen the cadre at the grassroots level. Political observers say by contesting elections, Tharoor is trying to bridge a gap. His nomination can help him to get a CWC membership or become leader in the Lok Sabha.

“Shashi Tharoor is a good orator, who has the ability to motivate people. He comes in a packaged deal and has good understanding of foreign policy,” said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai.

Congress has a dearth of leaders who can talk about the party’s ideology and make people understand. There was a time when several leaders like Pranab Mukherjee and Arjun Singh were revered because of their political thinking, Kidwai added.

“If Tharoor is elected president, it will certainly help the party to make its mark in Southern states like Karnataka where elections are due next year. He has the ability to connect with people,” said Kidwai.

Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit leader and considered a hard core party loyalist is close to all three Gandhis — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. A politician with over 45 years of experience, Kharge has steadily risen in his career.

On Friday, while filing the nomination, Kharge was accompanied by most of the senior Congress leaders. But there are still many Congress leaders who are unhappy over his candidature. Kharge is believed to be the party’s official choice.

Political analyst Sanjay Kumar says, “Kharge has experience and a big advantage with him is that he is a Dalit leader. Congress may try to woo people on these lines. But there’s a disadvantage as well that he cannot speak Hindi. Whether people agree or not, but Hindi is spoken in most of the states and knowing the language is very important to connect with the people.”

Kumar says language is not a barrier for Tharoor, but he is not seen as grounded. Moreover, the ruling party will always corner him on being “elite”. The party focuses more on what is beneficial for them in the long run, he added.

However, Kidwai says, “Kharge has won many elections, but he couldn’t make a position for himself in Karnataka. Coming with experience of many years, he should have been the party’s first choice. Now he comes to me as a curious case. It’s not very inspirational.”

As observer, Kharge had chosen Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister of Punjab, but the move did not work for the party. So much so that recently when Kharge was in Rajasthan, he was unable to sort out the situation. That speaks a lot of his leadership. Congress has gone back to bad times again, Kidwai remarked.

Former Jharkhand minister, KN Tripathi had also filed the nomination, but it was rejected as the signature of one of his proposers did not match.