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

New Delhi: The grand old Congress party is gearing up to elect its new chief in the forthcoming month of October this year, and is expected to hold a contest this once.

Amid nearing date for the inter-party poll, Congress’ senior leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor have made headlines as he calls for a ‘free and fair’ election in the party, possibly declaring his candidature.

Sources revealed that the latter is exploring the possibility to run for Congress’ national President and is yet to make a final call. Though Tharoor has not made any official statement on the matter so far, his latest op-ed written for Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi has sparked a massive buzz amongst the domestic political lobby.

In the article, Tharoor says that electing a new chief would be a step towards the ‘revitalization’ of the party as it badly needs so.

“We have seen global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race, a phenomenon we have already witnessed in 2019, when a dozen candidates contested to replace Theresa May and Boris Johnson emerged on top”, the article read.

“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. 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 added.

He further wrote that the party ideally should have conducted the polls for a dozen of other seats as well in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) where new faces 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”, he wrote.

Tharoor concluded his article with an appeal to his fellow collegues in Congress saying, ” 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”.

For the not known, Shashi Tharoor happens to be among the 23 leaders of the party who had wrote to Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the year 2020 urging to take steps for organisational reforms.