His prospects in a contest with Ashok Gehlot are considered bleak. But then no one gave him a chance when he entered politics.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor at an event in his constituency. (Tharoor/Facebook)
When the Congress party chose Shashi Tharoor as its candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency in 2009, the rival Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate visualised a walkover. Especially if he could project the writer-diplomat as an outsider with poor command over Malayalam and an inherent inability to wrap himself in the traditional Kerala mundu.
But a week into the campaign, the CPI and its affiliates in the LDF found their strategy boomeranging. A jovial Tharoor, clad in a mundu and conversing in Malayalam, was developing a huge fan following even in the interiors of the coastal constituency.
Born outside the country and with his roots in central Kerala’s Palakkad, Tharoor was an “imported commodity” even for Congress workers in and around Thiruvananthapuram.
As he contested the election two years after vacating the undersecretary-general’s office in the UN where he spent decades as a bureaucrat, many misjudged his ability to influence the masses. But, from the city’s English-speaking elites to the poor fish workers of Vizhinjam, he reached out to them all.
And won the election with a thumping majority of 99,998 votes.
A former Union minister of state for external affairs and human resources development, Tharoor is no more an outsider to Thiruvananthapuram, and he managed a hattrick of victories in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the politically volatile constituency where the Congress, in general, is losing strength, and the LDF and the BJP are consolidating their strongholds.
Today, be it the slushy fishing villages, the semi-rural suburbs, or the posh clubs of Thiruvananthapuram, he is a leader with a huge following.
As he positions himself to contest the Congress presidential election, Tharoor’s ability to make inroads into unfamiliar terrains at short notice might well be his single-most important asset.
This time, however, the canvas is big, and the challenge enormous.
Shashi Tharoor with Rahul Gandhi. (Tharoor/Facebook)
Though the party struggles to survive in most states, loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family still remains the primary yardstick to elect a new leader for most in Congress.
In the case of Tharoor, a one-time candidate for the post of UN secretary general, his political initiation began only in 2009, and there have been occasions when he has criticised the Congress on several issues, including the proclamation of the Emergency in 1975. These are not seen as stands going well with the Nehru-Gandhi family and their loyalists. Tharoor was also among the signatories of the letter by G-23 group of the Congress demanding reform in the party — an act construed as challenging the authority of the Gandhi family.
Despite his electoral track record in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor is not a favourite of any faction within the state unit of Kerala either, which identify themselves with Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and K Sudhakaran.
Though his performance in the Lok Sabha and acceptance among the elite in metros remain unmatched, he has had little to do with the party’s organisational side in and outside Kerala, largely also owing to the party never giving him such a position. Even in Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, his contribution has been negligible and limited to his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram.
Tharoor is a practical politician who ably bridges academic and intellectual activities with local-level interactions with his constituents. He knows his cosmopolitan profile alone will not help fetch votes in the AICC election in which the bulk of the delegates are from the North.
Whenever media persons have asked him about his pan-Indian credentials, Tharoor sums up his autobiography in a single line: Son of two Keralites, born in London, but brought up in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, who made an annual, month-long visit to Palakkad.
In a recent interaction with the media, he said he could even speak Hindi if the situation so demands — the journalists had sought to know about his acceptability as AICC president in the Hindi belt. Many of his supporters in Thiruvananthapuram believe that Tharoor will ably infuse new life into the national party because of his diplomatic skills and ability to carry people along.
Tharoor’s UN career was remarkable as he rose through the ranks, starting as an entry-level officer to being the potential secretary general. All in the space of 30 years. Had he won the race for the top post, Tharoor would have been the youngest-ever secretary general.
A former diplomat-turned-Congress fellow-traveller, who preferred anonymity, told South First that Tharoor had the ability to easily emerge as a national leader who could ably bridge the North-South divide in the party.
According to the former diplomat, Tharoor could reconnect the Congress with the urban elites, corporates, intellectuals, writers and professionals who have abandoned the party, as well as the masses. He felt a South Indian leader with an inclusive vision and great diplomatic skills is the need of the hour for the party.
However, there are those who consider him to be just a careerist.
“Tharoor once said he got offers from the Congress, the Left parties and the BJP in 2009 to contest the election, and preferred the Congress as the best among the options. In a recent interview with The New Indian Express, he did not deny the rumours of AAP and Trinamool Congress attempting to woo him. He has no loyalty to the party in general and the Nehru-Gandhi family in particular,” a district-level Congress leader in Thiruvananthapuram told South First.
Shashi Tharoor with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. (Tharoor/Facebook)
But his followers feel there is no other leader in the party with such wide acceptance, charisma and the ability to do wonders at short notice. They cite his track record in sailing smoothly through the factionally-divided Kerala unit of the Congress to stress that his diplomatic approach can ensure unity in the party in the long run.
Many feel Tharoor made a mistake in aligning with the G-23 group that once comprised Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, and Manish Tewari, and that it would prove detrimental to him in the AICC election, if he contests.
His camp fears that Ashok Gehlot would have the upper hand in a contest with Tharoor, especially given his long-term Nehru-Gandhi loyalty. Gehlot also has greater political background in the Hindi belt and has worked under prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
Very much an old-school Congress politician, Gehlot is well-networked in the party and has links and personal connections that go back a long way to PCC members in many states.
In comparison, Sashi is sophisticated and an intellectual with a proven ability to reach out and connect. His backers also cite his ability to fight and win over several adversities in his personal and political life despite being a long-time member of the Opposition benches at a time the BJP is in power at the Centre.
The post of AICC president is a coveted one. It has not been held by anyone other than Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi since 1998. In the event of a contest, a non-Gandhi could ascend to the top post in the party — whether Tharoor wins or loses.
Apr 25, 2024
Apr 17, 2024
Apr 13, 2024
Apr 12, 2024
Apr 12, 2024
Apr 11, 2024
