Congress President contender Mallikarjun Kharge quits RS post

A day after filing his nomination for the Congress President poll to be held on October 17, Mallikarjun Kharge  on Saturday resigned as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He told the grand old party's working President Sonia Gandhi that he is quitting from the post in the upper house, in line with the Congress's "one person, one post" rule announced at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir. He sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi last night. “I hereby tender my resignation from the post of Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, consequent upon my filing of nomination for the post of President, All India Congress Committee,” Kharge said in his letter to interim party president Sonia Gandhi. Kharge became the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House in February 2021 after the retirement of Ghulam Nabi Azad. 

He faces Shashi Tharoor, a key member of the 'G-23' dissident group, in a direct contest. On Friday, Mallikarjun Kharge, Shashi Tharoor and KN Tripathi filed their nominations for the Congress presidential polls.  P Chidambaram and Digvijay Singh are in the race to succeed Kharge as the LoP. Mrs Gandhi, the chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party, will now appoint a new leader and convey the decision to the Rajya Sabha Chairman. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race for Congress president after the ‘one person, one post’ formula, firmly pitched by Rahul Gandhi last week, led to a rebellion in the party’s state unit.