Mallikarjun Kharge Vs Shashi Tharoor: Campaign bar on AICC, PCC, CLP leaders

The Congress Central Election Authority on Monday issued guidelines for the Congress presidential elections, aimed at stressing on the neutrality of the party leadership and asking the party office-bearers to desist from campaigning for either of the two candidates.

Maintaining that Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are contesting in “their personal capacity” and that delegates “are free” to vote according to their choice, the guideline stated: “AICC general secretaries, in-charges, secretaries and joint secretaries, PCC presidents, CLP leaders, heads of frontal organisations, chiefs of departments/cells and all official spokespersons shall not campaign for or against contesting candidates. If they wish to support any candidate, they must first resign from their organisational post. After that, they can participate in the campaign process”.

The PCC presidents “shall extend courtesy to the candidates” and will provide/arrange meeting hall, chairs and other equipment for public announcement to the candidates but “no such meeting can be called by the PCC presidents in their personal capacity” as only the proposer or supporters of the candidates can organise such meetings. During the election, “no candidate shall use vehicles bringing the voters nor can they resort to any undesired pamphleteering or propaganda or mala-fide campaign against any candidate”.


In disregard for the poll advisory, Kerala PCC chief K Sudhakaran on Monday came out in support of Kharge. In Thiruvananthapuram, Sudhakaran said: “Kharge's experience at the organisational level and popularity will strengthen the party. In his six decades in politics, Kharge always stood for secularism. He never tried to compromise with the RSS. Kharge rose through the student politics and reached the highest echelons of the Congress party.”

While Shashi Tharoor campaigned in Hyderabad on Monday, Kharge left for Gulbarga for the annual Dussehra function and will start his campaign tour from Tamil Nadu soon.

Responding to Kharge’s Sunday comment that he had persuaded him to withdraw from the fray to have a “consensus and that despite the election the Congress persons have to remain united”, Tharoor tweeted: “Let me make it clear that I agree with @Kharge Ji that all of us in @INC wish to take on the BJP rather than each other. There is no ideological difference between us.

The choice for our voting colleagues Oct 17 is only on how to do it most effect.ively. #ThinkTomorrowThinkTharoor”. Meanwhile, a CWC member, referring to Kharge exploring a “consensus” by requesting Tharoor to leave the fray, quipped: “Since Kharge ji is very keen on a consensus and as Tharoor Ji didn’t oblige him by withdrawing from the fray, I wonder whether Kharge Ji will now walk his talk on consensus by withdrawing his own candidature”.

SONIA GANDHI IN MYSORE
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi arrived in Mysore on Monday and will participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Thursday. As the Yatra will be taking a break on Tuesday and Wednesday on account of Dussehra, she is expected to spend some time with Rahul Gandhi as they have not met each other since the launch of the yatra on September 7.