Congress Presidential Poll Results 2022: Tharoor extends ‘big thank you’ to voters; counting of votes on

As the counting begins in @INCIndia presidential elections, a big “thank you” from me to who all who contributed to making this historic event a landmark in the evolution of our politics. 🙏#ThinkTomorrowThinkTharoor #ChooseChangeChooseCongress pic.twitter.com/ABfLgVxNRV

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 19, 2022

The grand old party is all set to get a new chief as the counting of votes began at 10 am today. Former Union Ministers Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are in the fray and it will be for the first time in 24 years that the Congress party will get a president who does not belong to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

The new president will replace Sonia Gandhi who has been serving as interim president after Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the post following the party's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The counting is underway and the result is likely to be declared between 3 pm to 4 pm today.The ballot boxes from the state headquarters have reached the counting place in the Congress office.

Mallikarjun Kharge is seen as the favourite to win the contest. Five agents from each side will oversee the counting while two agents from both sides will be kept in reserve, sources said.

The Chairman of the Central Election Authority will announce the result after counting. More than 9,500 delegates cast their votes in the presidential election which took place at the culmination of the party's organisational polls.