Shashi Tharoor to contest Congress President polls? His call for ‘free and fair’ contest sparks buzz

India

oi-Deepika S

New
Delhi,
Aug
29:
Congress
MP
Shashi
Tharoor
is
exploring
the
possibility
of
running
for
the
party
President’s
post,
as
he
called
for
a
free
and
fair
elections.
However,
he
is
yet
to
take
a
final
call
on
it.

While
Tharoor
did
not
reveal
if
he
will
be
throwing
his
hat
in
the
ring
this
time,
he
indicated
towards
the
same
with
his
article
published
in
a
Malayalam
daily.

“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.

Salman
Rushdie
stabbed:
Shashi
Tharoor
says
‘sad
day
but
worse
would
be…

“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.

Facing
internal
upheaval,
the
Congress
on
Sunday
announced
that
the
election
for
its
president
would
be
held
on
October
17,
asserting
that
it
is
the
only
party
in
the
country
which
follows
such
a
democratic
exercise.
The
result
will
be
declared
on
October
19.
At
the
press
conference
where
the
party
announced
the
schedule,
AICC
general
secretary
organisation
K
C
Venugopal
said,
“Anybody
can
contest
the
election.
It
is
an
open
election.”

The
CWC
meeting
came
amid
several
leaders,
including
Rajasthan
Chief
Minister
Ashok
Gehlot,
having
publicly
exhorted
Rahul
Gandhi
to
return
as
the
party
chief.
However,
uncertainty
and
suspense
continue
on
the
issue.
Several
party
insiders
say
Rahul
Gandhi
is
persisting
with
his
stance
that
he
will
not
be
the
AICC
president.
Gehlot
on
Wednesday
had
sought
to
play
down
reports
about
him
being
the
frontrunner
for
the
Congress
president’s
post
and
said
efforts
will
be
made
till
the
last
minute
to
persuade
Rahul
Gandhi
to
take
over
the
reins
of
the
party
again.

Rahul
Gandhi
had
resigned
as
Congress
president
after
the
party
suffered
its
second
consecutive
defeat
in
the
2019
parliamentary
elections.
Sonia
Gandhi
who
took
over
the
reins
of
the
party
again
as
interim
president
had
also
offered
to
quit
in
August
2020
after
an
open
revolt
by
a
section
of
leaders,
referred
to
as
G-23,
but
the
CWC
had
urged
her
to
continue.

With
PTI
inputs