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“I’m saying that if you’re satisfied with party’s working, vote for Kharge sahab. If you want change, I’m there. But there’s no ideological problem,” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
Tharoor said that ordinary party workers told him to contest and that he wants the party to strengthen and also wants to become a ‘voice of change’ within the party.
“The internal democracy that we are showing is not present in any other party. When election was announced, I had intention(to contest). I wrote an article, stating that the election is good for party and mentioned its reasons,” he added.
Meanwhile, differences have cropped up among party leaders in Kerala on who should be supported in the elections to the top post. If a section of senior leaders including Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly VD Satheesan openly extended their support to Mallikarjun Kharge, some young leaders like Lok Sabha MP Hibi Eden expressed solidarity with Shashi Tharoor in his contest.
Talking to reporters in Kochi, Satheesan said state leaders and workers including him would work for the success of Kharge and they were waiting for the proud moment to see a Dalit becoming the president of the Congress. “He has been nominated after consulting with all senior leaders. So, Kharge will be supported. The contest for the party’s presidential post is the beauty of democracy. Congress is a democratic party,” he said.
Asking whether such a contest can be expected in the parties like CPI(M) or BJP, he said their practice was to take such decisions by “someone somewhere”. Rejecting criticism regarding 80-year-old Kharge’s advanced age, Satheesan said he is an experienced politician coming to the leadership.
Age is not a factor and the advantage of the leader’s experience should be made use of, the LoP said. He, however, made it clear that the support extended to Tharoor by some state party leaders would not cause any rift in the Congress in Kerala.
Sharing similar views, senior leader and MLA Ramesh Chennithala said Kharge was one of the senior-most leaders of the country who can contribute to the Indian National Congress in a remarkable way with his experience and leadership skills. A Dalit person becoming the chief of Congress is the necessity of the time, he said adding that Kharge’s impending elevation to the top post would give the party more strength.
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