Congress prez race comes down to Kharge vs Tharoor: A look at 12 non-Gandhi party presidents since Independence

The race for Congress president post has come down to a one-on-one contest between two leaders -- Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor. Whoever wins, the reigns of the Grand Old Party will finally go into the hands of a non-Gandhi chief after 22 years. 

In fact, the last time the party saw a contest for the coveted post was in November 2000 when Sonia Gandhi defeated Jitendra Prasad by a big margin. 

The last non-Gandhi president was Sitaram Kesari who was unceremoniously removed from office when the leadership decided to anoint Sonia Gandhi in his place in 1999.  

In Congress’ 130-year history, Sonia Gandhi has held the president post for the longest period. She took over party’s reigns from Sitaram Kesri following the 1998 Lok Sabha polls and has been at the helm since then, barring a two-year-period between 2017-19 when Rahul Gandhi became the party president.

Here is a look at the Congress presidents outside the Nehru-Gandhi family since India’s Independence: 

J B Kripalani (1947): Kripalani was leading the Congress when the country achieved its independence from the British rule. The four-time MP later left the party to form the Kisan Majdoor Praja Party. 

Pattabhi Sitaramayya (1948-49): Backed by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Sitaramayya contested the Congress presidential polls and emerged victorious. He was the Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 1952-57. 

Purushottam Das Tandon (1950): Tandon defeated Kripalani to claim the top post in 1950, but resigned a few years later amid reported differences with Nehru. 

U N Dhebar (1955-59): Dhebar took over the party’s reigns after Nehru’s first stint as Congress president and served as the chief for four years. He was also the chief minister of Saurashtra from 1948 to 1954. 

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy (1960-63): Reddy succeeded Indira Gandhi as the party president in 1960. He later quit the party and left politics in 1967. He was also the sixth President of India. 

K Kamaraj (1964-67): Kamaraj, popularly known as the kingmaker, served as the Congress president from 1964 to 1967. A Syndicate leader, he later former the Congress (O) after the split with Indira Gandhi-led Congress. 

S Nijalingappa (1968-69): Nijalingappa was the last president of the undivided Congress. He later joined the Syndicate leaders. 

Jagjivan Ram (1970-71): Jagjivan Ram served the president of the Indira-led Congress. After the Emergency, he left the Congress and joined the Janata Party. Ram was the defence minister when India went to war with Pakistan in 1971. 

Shankar Dayal Sharma (1972-74): Sharma took over the party’s reigns in 1972. He was the President of India from 1992 to 1997. 

Devakanta Barua (1975-77): Barua, a staunch Indira Gandhi supporter, led the party during the Emergency. He is remember for his proclamation “India is Indira, Indira is India”. 

P V Narsimha Rao (1992-96): Following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Rao became the Congress president in 1992. He was also the first prime minister from a non-Hindi speaking region.

Sitaram Kesri (1996-98): In 1996, Kesri became the president of Congress. His term saw the exit of several senior party leaders and defeat in 1998 Lok Sabha elections.