Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, a loyalist in the court of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty which rules the party, defeated the rival candidate Shashi Tharoor by almost 7,000 votes in a poll of 9,000 party.

Veteran politician Mallikarjun Kharge has won the internal election to become the president of India's main opposition Congress party. Mr Kharge was competing against charismatic MP Shashi.