Tharoor said that he wants to change the Congress into a “party of young India”, and his support base is swelling…reports Asian Lite news
Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said he will not withdraw his nomination for the post of Congress party president for which election is scheduled to be held on October 17.
“Rumours that I am going to withdraw is false, I will not withdraw,” he told the mediapersons.
The Congress leader also said that he was drawing huge support from the party leaders and cadres.
The former Union minister also said that as he was a democratically inclined person, and he has not asked other candidates to withdraw their candidature.
He said there was a need for a strong Congress party in the country to take on the BJP.
Tharoor said that he wants to change the Congress into a “party of young India”, and his support base is swelling.
He also said that the youth who are the future of the country was backing him and added that 65 per cent of the population of the country are below 35, and his expectations are on this young generation.
He also said the Gandhi family welcomed free and fair polls and the family has not indicated support for any candidate.
Tharoor said that party colleagues from across the country have urged him to contest the elections.
The senior Congress leader also said that he was getting “good ground support from Tamil Nadu”, adding and that he is confident of the outcome of the polls.
Earlier, Tharoor paid floral tributes to the memorials of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu K. Kamaraj.
Tharoor wins hearts, but Kharge to take votes
As the fight for the top post of the Congress has begun, Shashi Tharoor seems to have won the hearts many, but those do not find a place in the voters list and that’s where Malikarjuna Kharge, who has now got the tag of the being the ‘official’ candidate will help him.
The moment Tharoor’s name surfaced as a likely candidate, those who are aligned to the Gandhi family smelt a rat and then things took a different turn. The highlight is that two Keralites are doing their very best to see that another Keralite does not walk away with the honours, when votes are counted after the October 17 polling day.
The two Keralites, who are burning the midnight oil include 81-year-old veteran A.K. Antony and the now closest aide of Rahul Gandhi — K.C. Venugopal.
According to sources, the ‘official’ camp got a rude jolt when Tharoor sprang a huge surprise after 16 Congress colleagues of his here put their signature on his nomination form, and from then on the two Kerala leaders seeing the writing on the wall decided to act quickly.
Sources said that calls are now going to all to see that there should be no doubt whom they should vote for.
The day Tharoor landed in Hyderabad to campaign for his candidature, the next day, two-time former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, despite his poor health, was asked to reach Hyderabad to show that even in Tharoor’s home state, he does not have the support.
But, when Tharoor boarded the flight to here from Hyderabad, the pilot announced they have a special guest in Tharoor and it was greeted with applause and passengers crowded for a selfie and got autographs.
He reached Kerala on Tuesday for a two-day trip and immediately started drawing huge crowds. When he arrived at the state party headquarters also the scene was no different, but there was one startling difference as none from those who crowded around him when he spoke to the media and were shouting slogans for him, will be voting on October 17.
A media critic on condition of anonymity said if the real supporters of Tharoor and the huge response he is getting in social media and otherwise had votes, then Tharoor is a sure victor.
“The sad fact is those who matter in the Congress party continue to live in the yesteryear philosophy, when a huge percentage of the new generation fails to identify itself with the Nehru/Gandhi family and such people are laughing when they heard that it was 80-year-old Kharge, the ‘official’ candidate and that too against the dashing Tharoor,” said the critic.
