Is Shashi Tharoor in the race for Kerala CM? Congress MP answers | India News
New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has dismissed speculations about his chances of becoming the next Chief Minister of Kerala, saying that he is not even contesting the upcoming assembly elections.In an interview with PTI, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram clarified that the Chief Minister should ideally be chosen from among the elected MLAs. “I am not a potential chief minister,” he said, adding that since he is not contesting, he does not have to focus on one centre. Instead, his role will involve campaigning “up and down the length and breadth of the state” for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s recent message to party leaders to “dance together”, Tharoor called it a “good message”, saying unity within the alliance was now visible. He also expressed confidence in the UDF’s prospects, suggesting a strong showing of between 85 and 100 seats in the 140-member assembly.Using the analogy of cricket, Tharoor said the UDF was bowling “googlies” to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), arguing that the ruling alliance was on a “sticky wicket”. While he admitted that modern elections revolve around the chief minister’s face project, he supported the traditional approach of the Congress. “Congress has never done that,” he said, adding that the leadership prefers to choose a leader after a victory in consultation with legislators.At the same time, Tharoor admits that the absence of a clear face can be flawed. “You and I may have different views… because there may be a situation where you don’t have a visible leader in a state that inevitably hurts you,” he said. However, he argued that the organizational strength of the Congress across Kerala allowed it to campaign “around an agenda, a mission and a party logo”.Tharoor also downplayed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s role in Kerala, calling it a marginal player. “It’s not a three-way contest, a vacant seat party in the assembly for the BJP,” he said, adding that even “one or two or three” seats would be seen as a big success for the party.He asserted that the real rivalry remained between the UDF and the LDF led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While he noted that the polling indicated a tight contest, he said the BJP “is unlikely to even have a big enough footprint to be the kingmaker”.Kerala will vote in a single phase on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4, in a closely watched battle to oust the ruling LDF government.
