Tharoor, Kharge wish each other the best as Cong prez poll sees 96% turnout; all eyes on Oct 19

News Network

October 17, 2022

New Delhi, Nov 17: Around 9,500 or 96 per cent of 9,915 eligible Congress leaders and workers on Monday cast their vote to the elect a non-Gandhi as party chief for the first time in 22 years, even as the scales were tilted heavily towards veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge against his younger rival Shashi Tharoor.

Among those who voted at various parts of the country included party chief Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and the two candidates among others.

“As per preliminary assessment, 9,497 out of 9,915 PCC delegates who are eligible to vote in the election cast their vote, accounting for 95.78 per cent of the total votes,” Congress’ Central Election Authority Chairperson Madhusudan Mistry told a press conference after the conclusion of voting.

The counting of votes will be held on Wednesday at the AICC headquarters.

There was no adverse incident during Congress presidential polls, Mistry said, adding he has not received any complaints.

Sonia along with Priyanka came to the AICC headquarters to vote. As she moved into the polling booth, Sonia told reporters, "I have been waiting for a long time for this day."

While former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was the first vote in AICC headquarters, others who voted there included Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh and senior leaders Janardhan Dwivedi and Salman Khurshid.

Kharge voted in Bengaluru while Tharoor voted in Thiruvananthapuram. Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal also voted in Thiruvananthapuram.

Both the candidates wished each other the best. Tharoor telephoned Kharge in the morning to "reaffirm my respect for him and our shared devotion to the success of Congress." Kharge tweeted, "my best wishes to Shashi Tharoor. Spoke to him earlier today, both of us are contesting to strengthen Congress to build a stronger and better nation for the future generations."

After the voting, Tharoor tweeted, "My thanks to all the Congress colleagues, workers, delegates across the country who had the courage to participate, to campaign, to dream and to vote today -- whatever the result of this election, it is a victory for you!"

Senior leader Anand Sharma, who was among the 87 leaders who cast their votes at the AICC headquarters said it was a good start and expressed hope that there will be an election to the Congress Working Committee.

Asked about elections to the CWC, Mistry said AICC members will be elected and the new president will take a call on plenary session and next president will take a call on the election of CWC and CEA Members.

He said the party had started its exercise for presidential polls two years ago and it gathered momentum in the last six months.

"The entire process was completed in a democratic manner. Congress once again proven that there is an internal democracy within the party. Other political parties should also take lessons from this," he said.

He emphasised the election was conducted through a secret ballot. Fifty people, including Rahul, voted at the polling booth set up at the Bharat Jodo Yatra camp in Karnataka's Bellary.

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Israel launches new aggression on residential neighbourhood in Lebanon’s capital, many killed

News Network

November 24,2025

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable.

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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