Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said he decided to enter the fray for the top post after members of the Gandhi family refused to contest the poll and he wanted to strengthen the party.
The electoral contest would take place between Mr Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, and voting will take place on October 17 in every state capital through secret ballot.
"After the Gandhi family refused to contest the election for the post of Congress president, I decided to contest this election after consulting my well-wishers," said Mr Kharge, who was here to meet members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC).
"I decided to contest the election to strengthen the Congress and to save its ideology," Mr Kharge said, adding he was meeting more than 9,000 members of his party across the country and seeking their support.
He said that he has prepared his manifesto by incorporating the announcements made at the party's Udaipur Chintan Shivir.
"Fifty per cent posts in the organisation will be given to people below 50 years of age and whatever other announcements are there, I will implement them. I am sure that I will get the support of all members," Mr Kharge said.
The Congress had held a three-day brainstorming session in May in Rajasthan's Udaipur to evolve the party's strategy for its overhaul and revival in the wake of a series of electoral defeats.
On Uttar Pradesh, Mr Kharge said that the state is very important for the Congress and after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra became the party's in-charge for the state, people's inclination towards it has increased.
Even though the Congress did not get the expected results in the assembly elections, but in the future, people are looking towards it with hope, he said.
The 80-year-old Congressman said that he is confident that he will win the election for the post of Congress president and Uttar Pradesh will play an important role.
Attacking the BJP and the RSS, the senior Congress leader said that they "believe in the divide and rule of the Britishers".
"No BJP or Sangh worker went to jail or hanged for the freedom of the country. Instead their workers were associates of the British and used to get pension from them," Mr Kharge alleged.
Both of them do not have faith in democracy and they are raising questions on the Congress organisational election and Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said.
Speaking to reporters at the UPCC headquarters, Mr Kharge, when asked how he rates his chances in the Congress presidential poll, said, "Everybody together made me the candidate and now, it is their responsibility to make me win. You know that when everything is appearing in the papers and wherever I go, delegates are coming in favour of me, therefore it is not difficult to get elected."
When asked about Mr Tharoor's recent statement that the party needs change, he said, "I don't know what it means. I have been working (for the party) for the past 55 years. People will see me and based on it, they will examine." Mr Tharoor had recently said in Mumbai that "our party needs change and I feel I am the one who will be the catalyst of change".
Asked about his rival in a recent TV interview claiming that there are aspects which suggest there is an uneven playing field, Mr Kharge asserted, "The delegates are coming on their own. Should I say no to them. If you are popular, people know you, delegates will come. Our campaigners are very strong, they are doing it."
Elaborating on the poll process, he said, "This election is a very simple election. Those who are members, they are already elected delegates in their states. There are 9,300 delegates. Those voters, those delegates, will vote for the candidate. And whosoever gets the majority, he will be elected, and there is no doubt, and that process we are following, and meeting all the delegates." He added that the number of voters (delegates) from Uttar Pradesh is 1,250.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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