Watch: What Shashi Tharoor said about Sonia Gandhi, Kharge and Rahul after losing Congress president election

Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the new party chief on Wednesday after he polled nearly 8,000 votes in the presidential election. Kharge will formally take over as party chief on October 26. Shashi Tharoor, who garnered nearly 1,100 votes, conceded defeat minutes after the announcement and said that the "revival of our party has truly begun today”. At a press meet after conceding defeat, Tharoor said: "I went to his (Mallikarjun Kharge) residence and congratulated him on his victory. He is a senior leader and will always guide the party. I am extremely happy as over 1,000 delegates voted for me. Our workers are the real pride of our party."