NEW DELHI: The new Congress chief will be known today. Counting of votes has started at the AICC headquarters. 9,497 votes in 68 ballot boxes are to be counted. They are counted in bundles of one hundred ballot papers each. The results will be announced later in the afternoon.

There were a total of 9915 voters. Out of this 9497 people voted. No matter who wins, it will be two and a half decades later that someone from outside the Gandhi family will become president. It is after 22 years that the Congress is electing a president through elections.

Meantime, Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Kodukkunil Suresh confirmed the win of Mallikarjun Kharge. Suresh said they only want to know how much is the majority and also said the party has not ignored Tharoor.

Chennithala clarified that the main responsibility of Kharge, who will become the Congress president, is to implement the decisions taken at the chintan shivir. He added that the criticism of being a remote control is to insult Kharge.