Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said he would formulate a strategy to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if elected to head the grand old party.
Kharge was in Mumbai as part of his election campaign where he met all the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) members. He reached Tilak Bhavan after 6 pm and addressed PCC members for almost an hour. “I will devise a strategy to defeat the BJP and the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh],” the 80-year-old said after the meeting.
“I won’t be able to do this alone and need everyone to come together. I believe in collective leadership and together we all can bring the change,” he said.
The senior Congress leader said he decided to contest the poll only after being approached by his colleagues. “I wanted Rahul Gandhi to become the president but he refused and also said that no one from the Gandhi family would contest the poll. Soon after this, I was approached by senior leaders and they asked me to take up the responsibility.”
After Sitaram Kesari, Kharge would be the first party president from a non-Gandhi family in 24 years.
The other contender for the Congress chief post, Shashi Tharoor, will visit the city on Saturday and Sunday.
In Maharashtra, there are 533 PCC members who will vote for the new president on October 17.