Tharoor may contest Congress prez poll

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is exploring the possibility of running for the post of Congress president though he is yet to take a final call on it, sources said.

They said he has not made up his mind but could take a call on it soon. While Tharoor declined to comment on whether he would throw his hat into the ring, he has written an article for the Malayalam daily 'Mathrubhumi' calling for a "free and fair" election.

In the article, he has said ideally the party should have announced elections also for the dozen seats on the CWC itself which are supposed to be elected.

"Allowing members of the party drawn from the AICC and PCC delegates to determine who will lead the party from these key positions, would have helped legitimize the incoming set of leaders and give them a credible mandate to lead the party," said Tharoor, who was among the group of 23 leaders who wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking organisational reforms.

"Still, electing a fresh president is a start towards the revitalisation the Congress badly needs," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Tharoor said the election also has other beneficial effects - for instance, "we have seen the global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race, a phenomenon we already witnessed in 2019, when a dozen candidates contested to replace Theresa May, and Boris Johnson emerged on top".

Replicating a similar scenario for the Congress will similarly increase the national interest in the party and galvanise more voters towards the Congress party once again, he said in the article.

"For this reason, I hope that several candidates come forward to present themselves for consideration. Putting forward their visions for the party and the nation will surely stir public interest," he wrote. While the party as a whole is in need of renewal, the most urgent leadership position that needs to be filled is naturally that of the Congress president, Tharoor said.

Given the current state of the party, the perception of crisis and the national picture, whoever assumes the mantle of president will undoubtedly need to achieve the twin goals of energising the Congress party workers and inspiring the voters.

"He or she should have a plan to fix what ails the party, as well as a vision for India. After all, a political party is an instrument to serve the country, not an end in itself," he said. "Either way, a free and fair election process would be a healthy way to go about settling the issue. It would legitimise the mandate being offered to the incoming president," he said.

On the recent exit of party veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, Tharoor wrote that the latest in a steady spate of departures has been fuelling incessant media speculation and a daily dose of obituaries for the party.

We have seen the global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race. Replicating a similar scenario for the Congress will similarly increase the national interest in the party and galvanise more voters towards the Congress party once again.

- Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor