The polls will take place on 17 October between 10 am and 4 pm. The counting and results will be declared on 19 October.
Between Kharge and Tharoor, the winner will be deemed with the responsibility to take the party forward with new vigour keeping the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in mind.
Presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on the eve of the lections said that he would work in cooperation with Mallikarjun Kharge in case the latter wins.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said that while he wants to bring about a change the Congress' way of work, there is no difference in his ideology with that of Kharge's.
“There's no problem with our ideology but I want to bring a change in our way of work... Mallikarjun Kharge is an experienced leader, if he wins, we'll work in cooperation naturally," Tharoor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI ahead of the election set to be held after more than two decades on Monday.
He later took to Twitter to share with his supporters the voting process wherein Congress delegates would have to put a 'tick' mark for the candidate they support. “Election Authority has changed the requirement for a vote from writing “1" against the preferred candidate’s name to a ✅ tick mark. Delegates please note — a tick mark is needed in the box next to my name!" he wrote.
Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot.
Polling would take place at the AICC headquarters in Delhi and at over 65 polling booths across the country in an electoral contest which is taking place for the sixth time in the party's 137-year history.
Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, while Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.
During the campaign, even though Tharoor has raised issues of uneven playing field, both candidates and the party have maintained that the Gandhis are neutral and that there is no "official candidate".
