Congress party is all set to elect to new president on October 17 and the party is most likely to see a contest this time. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor has created a buzz about declaring his candidacy as he called for a contest with ‘several candidates’.
In an article he wrote for the Malayalam daily, ‘Mathrubhumi’, Congress MP said that electing a fresh president is a start towards the revitalization the party badly needs.
Tharoor drew a comparison to the ongoing leadership race in the British Conservative Party and said a similar scenario for the Congress would “increase the national interest in the party and galvanise more voters towards the Congress party once again.”
In the article, the Congress leader called for a ‘free and fair’ election. He said ideally the party should have announced elections also for the dozen seats on the CWC itself which are supposed to be elected.
“We have seen global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race, a phenomenon we have already witnessed in 2019, when a dozen candidates contested to replace Theresa May and Boris Johnson emerged on top,” he wrote in the article.
“Replicating a similar scenario for the Congress will similarly increase the national interest in the party and galvanise more voters towards the Congress party once again. For this reason I hope that several candidates come forward to present themselves for consideration. Putting forward their visions for the party and the nation will surely stir public interest”, Tharoor wrote in the article.
While the Congress MP is yet to make a direct comment on the speculations, his interview with the New Indian Express suggests a different story.
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Tharoor spoke of his interest in venturing into Kerala politics, where ‘Congress is a serious contender for power’. He expressed his desire to be the Chief Minister and said,”If given an opportunity, I would grab it because there are things to be done”.
Tharoor also hinted that he would stay away from the 2024 Loksabha elections.
“All I am saying is that I am seriously examining all the options before me. It is the party that will decide whether to allot a seat to me or not. If my party gives me a ticket to the contest, that could be one option. There are other options too,” Congress MP said.
Tharoor, however, chose to stay mum on the “other options”. On being quizzed about rumours of AAP and BJP trying to rope him in, Shashi Tharoor responded that they are not the only ones and ideological convictions comes first for him.
In a matter of weeks, Tharoor had given out signs on the varying options that’s in front of him.
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