Guwahati: Mallikarjun Kharge officially assumed the role of Congress president on Wednesday following a ceremony at the AICC headquarters when he received the certificate of election to the top position.
Kharge, the first non-Gandhi to head the party in 24 years, had defeated Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a direct contest for the president’s post in the grand old party after the Gandhis opted out of the race.
According to PTI, Kharge received the election certificate from Madhusudan Mistry, head of the party’s central election authority.
Mistry expressed his hope that other parties will learn from the Congress and implement secret ballot elections for party presidents.
Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the event which was attended by several top party leaders.
Kharge visited Rajghat and paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi before becoming power. Additionally, he paid respects to the leaders by visiting the memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram.