KALABURAGI: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday that he is confident of winning the election to the post of AICC president. Speaking to reporters before leaving for Mysuru where he will join Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi in the party’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kharge said many state PCC unit leaders and senior party leaders were present when he filed his nomination papers which is an indication that there is overwhelming support for his candidature.
Kharge also ruled out the possibility of his return to state politics as a chief ministerial candidate by saying, “I am a sincere worker of Congress, which made me a Union minister twice and also the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Now, as many leaders are backing me for the post of AICC president, what more can I expect”, he said. He also declined to comment on rumours that his supporters were urging his rival for the Congress chief’s post, Shashi Tharoor, to withdraw his papers.
‘Will focus on collective leadership’
Kharge said, if elected to the top post, he will focus on making the collective leadership of the party strong. He said his first priority would be to strengthen the Congress party for the Legislative assembly elections next year and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
He added that efforts will be made to implement the ‘Udaipur Declaration’ of the party. On unifying opposition parties, the senior leader said that after the elections, a meeting of all senior leaders of the Congress party will be convened to discuss alliances.
He said he shares a good rapport with leaders of many political parties which would help in forging alliances with other parties, for the survival of democracy and for the defeat of communal forces in the country.