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‘Neither ruled myself in nor out’: Tharoor on contesting for Congress president post
Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday kept the speculations of his contesting in the Congress presidential election alive as he said he is not ruling himself out. But he is not ruling himself in either, the Congress leader said.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday he has neither ruled himself in nor out of the election to the president's post to the party scheduled to be held next month. "Hope many will contest. I have neither ruled myself in our out," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said to news agency PTI, keeping the buzz alive. The Congress MP did not announce any such plan but his article in a Malayalam paper on the necessity of an election in the party for the post triggered these speculations, which he did not put to rest. Earlier, he said people are free to speculate.
Amid the speculations, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran said Shashi Tharoor is welcome to contest the polls as the Congress is a democratic party and its members have the right to contest for the top party post.
Tharoor's push for making the electoral rolls public along with Manish Tewari made speculations over his intent stronger. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh on Monday said when the candidates will submit their nominations, they will get the electoral rolls. "I have heard many people want to contest. They are welcome. If the election takes place on October 17, our Congress leaders at that time will be in Karnataka as part of our Bharat Jodo Yatra. They will vote in Bengaluru," Jairam Ramesh said.
What Tharoor wrote on Congress presidential election
In the article which set the tongues wagging, Tharoor wrote that an election is good for the party. On being asked about the article, Tharoor earlier said he supported the idea of another person assuming the top post as the Gandhi family members have declared they would not contest the polls. "So let many candidates come forward and participate in the election in the democratically functioning party. That is good for the party," he said earlier.
"Why not another person come to the post of the Congress president? There are lakhs of members in the party. Let's see," he said.
Talking about the exit of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharoor, in the article, wrote there is no reason to write off the Congress party as there exists no other national alternative to the domination of the ruling BJP. "The leadership vacuum at the top has had a damaging effect within the party. And yet, in the aftermath of many difficult moments in the past, the grand old party displayed an immense capacity to weather change...," the article said.
"Today, the key decision making body within the Congress, the Congress Working Committee, has announced an election schedule for a President for the party, who will be elected by October 19th. Ideally, it should have announced elections also for the three dozen seats on the CWC itself which are supposed to be elected," he wrote.
Allowing members of the party to determine their leaders would have helped legitimise the incoming set of leaders and give them a credible mandate to lead the party, he wrote. "Still, electing a fresh president is a start towards the revitalisation the Congress badly needs," he added.
