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'Status quo won’t help': Karti Chidambaram pitches Tharoor for Congress chief
Karti Chidambaram was among the few prominent leaders who signed the nomination forms in support of Shashi Tharoor's candidacy for the post of Congress president.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Saturday voiced strong support for party's presidential election candidate Shashi Tharoor, saying the former diplomat's pragmatic modernism coupled with his appeal beyond the party will prove crucial in fight against the “divisive politics” of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Stressing the need for “reformist thinking” in Congress, Chidambaram asserted that the status quo won't help the party.
“I support Shashi Tharoor for Congress President. His pragmatic modernism coupled with his appeal beyond the party, is crucial to fight BJP’s divisive politics,” the Lok Sabha member from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga said in a tweet.
“Status quo & business as usual won’t help our party. There’s an urgent need for reformist thinking in our party,” he added, echoing Tharoor's assertion that party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge is a “candidate of continuity".
Karti Chidambaram was among the few prominent leaders who signed the nomination forms in support of Tharoor's candidacy for the post of Congress president.
Responding to a social media user's claim that Tharoor is "everything that the BJP propagates as English-enabled privileged elitism", Chidambaram asked since when "proficiency in a language is a disadvantage and a liability."
"Shashi Tharoor appeals to an audience well beyond the party faithful. Congress needs that now. His success is due to his own academic achievements, which aspirational India admires," he added.
Tharoor expressed his gratitude to Chidambaram and other elected representatives “who are conscious of what the public wants” from Congress.
“Thanks @kartipC! I am grateful to you & others among our elected representatives who are conscious of what the public wants from @incIndia. It’s time for change,” he tweeted.
The Congress is set to choose its new president between Kharge and Tharoor on October 17. The results will be announced on October 19.
