The Congress today declared veteran Mallikarjun Kharge its new chief, the first non-Gandhi to lead the party in 24 years. He will take charge on October 26. Mr Kharge, 80, widely seen to be the "Gandhi-approved" candidate in a contest against Shashi Tharoor, won 84 per cent of the votes cast on Monday. Mr Kharge takes over from Sonia Gandhi, who agreed to temporarily lead the party when Rahul Gandhi stepped down in 2019, taking responsibility for successive general election defeats.
