Expect Them to Join BJP Soon, Says Assam CM on Those Who Voted for Tharoor in Cong Prez Poll; Gets a Response

Commenting on the “so-called” presidential elections of the Congress party, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that he expects those who voted for Shashi Tharoor to “join BJP soon.”

Biswa also called the 1,072 delegates who voted for Tharoor, as the “only democratic” people in the grand old party.

“In Congress’ so called internal elections, the result was known and declared even before the counting of votes. How is Shri Mallikarjun Kharge symbol of internal democracy? The only democratic people in the Congress were the 1,000 delegates who showed the courage to vote for Shashi Tharoor. I expect them to join BJP soon,” Biswa said speaking to news agency ANI.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor reacted to these comments saying “those who show courage will never join the BJP.”  Only those who “do not have courage to fight” might be tempted to join the saffron party, Tharoor added.

Apart from him, Congress leader Salman Anees Soz has said that he will never join the BJP even if it’s the only party that is left as it has too many “bigots.”

Taking to Twitter, Soz said, “I was one of 1,072 delegates who voted for Shashi Tharoor in the Congress elections. We lost but internal party democracy won. If BJP was the only party left, I wouldn’t join it. It has too many bigots, cowards, and opportunists for my taste.”

Joining the reaction chorus, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh retweeted the chief minister’s comments and wrote “Bakwas (nonsense) has no limits for him.”

Pawan Kharge said that Sarma’s heart was still in Congress.

In the Congress presidential polls held last month, Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the Congress president after defeating Shashi Tharoor in an electoral contest, the sixth in the party’s 137-year-old history.

Kharge became the first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.

Outgoing Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Kharge at his residence in Delhi and congratulated him. Karti Chidambaram, a counting agent for Tharoor, declared after the counting process was over that Kharge had won the polls and the Kerala MP had got 1,072 votes.

Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters on Monday In a statement, Tharoor said the final verdict has been in favour of Kharge. He also conveyed his congratulations to Kharge for his victory. “The decision of the party delegates is final and I accept it humbly. It is a privilege to be a member of a party that allows its workers to choose their president,” Tharoor said.

“Our new president is a party colleague and senior who brings ample leadership and experience to the table. Under his guidance, I am confident that we can all collectively take the party to new heights,” Tharoor said. Tharoor said the party owes an “irredeemable debt” to outgoing president Sonia Gandhi, for her quarter-century of leadership of the party and for being the anchor during our most crucial moments.

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