Those who denounced the letter writers in the "Group of 23" like Nirmal Khatri and Naseeb Pathan have interestingly found places in the panels announced by Gandhi on Sunday evening.
The electoral contest would take place between Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, and voting will take place on October 17 in every state capital through secret ballot.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam legislator and the party's youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin was sworn in as minister in Chennai on Wednesday by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has managed to contain dissent in most areas in the run-up to the Goa assembly polls scheduled for February 14, but four seats, including the prestigious Panaji constituency, continue to be a cause for worry.
The resignation of Kandolkar and two other leaders, who had contested on the TMC symbol, came as another setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led party which is struggling to retain its flock in Goa since the poll debacle.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
Azad, who had served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Union minister under various prime ministers and the chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, refused to divulge any further details on the formation of his new party.
Tharoor also said the Congress must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party.
Among the other promises made by the party are purchase of wheat and paddy at Rs 2,500 per quintal and Rs 400 per quintal for sugarcane.
In an accompanying vision statement, the former finance minister highlighted his track record of serving in the Cabinet, helping to steer the economy through the toughest of times with the COVID pandemic.
The Janata Dal-United said that it disagrees with its ally BJP's stand on the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A -- which pertains to special rights given to Jammu-Kashmir -- as well as the construction of Ram temple and instant talaq.
Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had committed suicide.
Releasing the manifesto titled 'Badlav Ka Sankalp' (commitment to change) in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, Tejashwi Yadav said their government, if elected, would first approve the process for appointments on about 10 lakh jobs in the government.
