Senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge is set to formally take over as Congress president today in a ceremony where Sonia Gandhi, party’s interim chief, will hand over the certificate of election and the baton.
Mallikarjun Kharge, first non-Gandhi to head the Grand Old Party in 24 years, defeated Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a direct contest for the party top post after the Gandhis opted out of the race and after Ashok Gehlot also pulled out of contention following a fiasco.
Ahead of his taking over, Kharge called on former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his residence and spent some time with him.
Kharge paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and will also visit memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, besides former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram.
Security personnel and workers made last-minute arrangements in the Congress president’s office and at the AICC headquarters lawns where a tent was being put up.
Chairman of the central election authority of the Congress Madhusudan Mistry will formally hand over the election certificate to Kharge at the function, which will also see the presence of outgoing chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.