Kharge, Tharoor, Tripathi in fray for Congress Presidential poll

Veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday filed his nomination for the post of Congress president. Veteran leader Digvijaya Singh has opted out, leaving Shashi Tharoor as the other major candidate. Karge said he was fighting for a big change in the party.Tharoor too filed his nominations today ahead of the 3 pm deadline. Former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi, who is the third candidate in the contest, has also filed his papers. This is the first Congress president election in more 20 years with non-Gandhis in the contest. The Gandhis have refused to contest making way for other senior leaders to head the party. Kharge is likely to resign as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha in line with the Congress's "one person, one post" rule.

Kharge's  candidature was proposed by party leaders Ashok Gehlot, Digvijaya Singh, Pramod Tiwari, PL Punia, AK Antony, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik. G-23 leaders Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari have also backed him.Kharge is one of the most experienced persons in the party and is a Dalit leader too, Tewari said. Friday is the last day for filing nominations for the top party post. Tharoor asserted that he has a vision to strengthen the party which should be a vehicle for "change" as he filed his nomination for the party president poll. Addressing a press conference after filing his papers, the former Union minister called his rival Kharge 'Bhishma Pitamah' of the Congress. Tharoor also ruled out withdrawing from the contest, stressing that he has not taken the trouble of filing the nomination only to opt out later. He said he will not let down party workers supporting him.