SHILLONG, Oct 17: Altogether 56 Congress delegates cast their votes in Shillong on Monday to elect the next president of the party. Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are vying for the top post in the party.
The voting began at 10 am at the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Shillong and by the time the voting ended at 4 pm, altogether 56 delegates had cast their votes.
Speaking to media persons later, MPCC president Vincent Pala said the election process began around three months ago and most of the delegates in the state cast their votes on Monday.
Terming both Kharge and Tharoor as seasoned politicians, Pala denied speculations that AICC has directed the party leaders to vote for a particular candidate.
“The AICC and MPCC have left it to the wisdom of the delegates to cast their votes in favour of any candidate they wish,” Pala said.
The voting was conducted through a secret ballot and the ballot boxes were dispatched to New Delhi on Monday itself.
It may be mentioned that the Pradesh presidents had been asked by AICC not to campaign for any particular candidate.
The results will be declared on October 19.
Meanwhile, Pala said the party has announced its schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections due in February.
The aspiring candidates can collect the application forms from the party office and screening of the candidates will be done by the Pradesh Election Committee on November 21.
