Page 2 - Shashi Tharoor

Caste consciousness is greater today than in 1950s: Shashi Tharoor

There is greater consciousness of caste in Indian society today compared to the decade after independence, Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor said here on Saturday. Speaking during a discussion on The lost legacy of Ambedkar at the Tata Literature Festival, he said now every caste is conscious of its identity, and this "identity label has become a marker for political mobilization." Tharoor's book "Ambedkar: A Life, a biography of Dr B R Ambedkar, was launched during the program. Ambedkar wanted to completely destroy the caste system and he will probably be horrified to realize that, if anything, the caste system is more and more entrenched in the political parties, he said. To a question from the audience, Tharoor, the third-term MP from Thiruvananthapuram, noted that the political parties which are against discrimination or untouchability nonetheless seek votes in the name of caste. The caste system is "far from annihilated", he added. Both Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru want

UK PM Sunak: Tharoor stirs Twitter storm after 'visible minority' remark

With many in India expressing their happiness, including Sunak's father-in-law and founder of Infosys Narayana Murthy, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has stirred up a storm on Twitter

Kharge's presidency of Congress in Modi era is a poisoned chalice

It's time to admit the Congress's problem is not, in fact, the Gandhis. If anything, they hold together a party that would otherwise split into multiple factions

Kharge can't revive Congress, but the party's vote share may rise in 2024

After 10 years in power and with all-round economic distress, it would be a miracle if the BJP didn't lose around 3 percentage points from its 2019 share of 37.36 per cent

Clear from beginning that Cong establishment will choose Kharge: Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor who lost to Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress presidential election said that it was clear from the beginning that the party's establishment would rally behind his opponent

Mistry slams Tharoor over allegations of 'irregularities' in Cong prez poll

Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Thursday accused Shashi Tharoor's team of having two faces -- one for the party's poll body and another for the media -- as he rejected allegations of irregularities during the just-concluded AICC presidential poll, according to sources. In his response to Team Tharoor's letter in which "extremely serious irregularities" were flagged in the conduct of the election in Uttar Pradesh, Mistry said the poll body satisfied the candidate on every complaint but despite that he raised all those points in the media before bringing them to "our notice". "I am sorry to say that you had one face before me which communicated that you're satisfied with all our answers and action and different face in the media which made all these allegations against us," Mistry said in his letter to Tharoor's chief election agent Salman Soz, according to sources. The campaign team of Tharoor, who lost the party's presidential polls to Mallikarjun .

Mallikarjun Kharge: Some lesser known facts about Congress' 98th president

Interim president Sonia Gandhi met Kharge today and congratulated him for winning the elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his wishes to Kharge

Mallikarjun Kharge faces multiple challenges in new role as Congress chief

He is the first non-Gandhi president of the party in more than 20 years

Will Kharge be a rubber stamp or a connect between party and family?

Kharge began life as a trade union lawyer and knows what it is to struggle

Shashi Tharoor: Lost Cong prez poll but not before making himself heard

He lost the election but Shashi Tharoor managed to score many a political point during his campaign for Congress president, a contest he lost to veteran party colleague Mallikarjun Kharge who was favoured to win. The author, wordsmith, former UN diplomat and social media pioneer with 8.3 million followers on Twitter demonstrated during the last few weeks that he is quite the opposite of a quockerwodger', a politically loaded term for a wooden puppet he introduced into our lexicon, and is instead independent minded, making moves on his own terms. Tharoor's loss is reminiscent of his electoral run in the 2006 UN secretary general poll in which he was defeated by South Korea's Ban Ki-moon but not before creating a strong buzz. It was in that contest perhaps that he first displayed his stomach for an electoral fight against daunting odds. That the often outspoken Tharoor managed 1,072 votes against perceived Gandhi favourite Kharge's 7,897 in the presidential election, only the sixth i

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Congress presidential polls energised cadre to face BJP: Shashi Tharoor

The Congress presidential election has energised party workers to take on the challenge the BJP poses in upcoming elections, Shashi Tharoor, who lost the poll to Mallikarjun Kharge, said on Wednesday. Tharoor told a press conference here he was never a candidate of dissent, but for change. Kharge's victory was a victory of the Congress, he said, adding the party's presidential election was to strengthen the organisation. "This augurs well for the Congress. We will move forward from here. Our workers have been energised to take on the challenge posed by the BJP and I am also confident that our party will display its strength," said Tharoor, who got 1,072 votes against Kharge's 7,897. "This is not an issue about an individual. I only wish that the party is strengthened. For a stronger India, you need a stronger Congress," he said. Tharoor expressed hope Kharge will implement the provisions of the Congress constitution that mandates election to the Congress Working Committee.

Shashi Tharoor calls on Mallikarjun Kharge after Cong prez poll results

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor called on party president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge after losing to him in the battle for the top post, and offered his full cooperation going forward. Kharge was on Wednesday elected the Congress president after defeating Tharoor in the electoral contest, the sixth in the party's 137-year-old history. Kharge got 7,897 votes and Shashi Tharoor 1,072 votes, while 416 votes were declared invalid. "Called on our new President-elect Mallikarjun Kharge to congratulate him & offer him my full co-operation. Congress has been strengthened by our contest," Tharoor tweeted along with pictures of his meeting with Kharge. In one of the pictures, he held Kharge's arm aloft with Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also in the photograph.

Revival of Congress has truly begun today: Tharoor after conceding defeat

As Mallikarjun Kharge won the Congress president poll, his electoral rival Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said the "democratic contest" has galvanised vibrancy at all levels and has prompted a healthy and constructive discussion on change, which will serve the party in good stead in the future. Tharoor also claimed that the Congress' revival has begun. In a statement, Tharoor said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held, and will always hold, a special place in the hearts of Congress party members. "It is my hope and belief that the family will remain the foundational pillar of the Congress, our moral conscience and ultimate guiding spirit. In particular, the spectacular success of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra is a testament to the family's enduring appeal to the masses," said the MP from Kerala who got 1,072 votes against Kharge's 7,897. He said that in a true celebration of inner-party democracy, over 9,500 delegates of the Congress cast their vote in the elections for the post of party .

Kharge vs Tharoor: Counting of votes begins for Congress Presidential polls

Counting of votes began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls in which senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of AICC chief. The counting of the votes cast on Monday began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here. All sealed ballot boxes from the 68 polling booths set up across the country had been brought here by Tuesday evening and kept in a "strong room" at the party office. The counting agents of Kharge are Pramod Tiwari, Kodikunil Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kuljit Singh Bagra and Gurdeep Singh Sappal. Karti Chidambaram, Atul Chaturvedi and Sumedh Gaikwal are among those who are counting agents of Tharoor. While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry has expressed satisfaction with the party's presidential pol

Congress to get first non-Gandhi president in 24 years today

The Congress will get its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years on Wednesday after more than 9,500 votes cast to choose between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are counted to cap the election contest, the sixth in its 137-year-old history. The counting of the votes cast on Monday will begin at 10 am on Wednesday at the AICC headquarters here. While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. The process of bringing all the ballot boxes from the 68 polling booths set up across the country by the party will be completed by Tuesday. The sealed boxes will be kept in a "strong room" at the party headquarter. The sealed ballot boxes will be opened before the candidates' agents and the votes will be mixed repeatedly as they are added from various boxes. Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry has ...

96% turnout in Congress presidential polls, all eyes on Oct 19 results

More than 9,500 Congress delegates across the country on Monday voted to elect the party's first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, choosing between senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor as successor to Sonia Gandhi. Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at all PCC offices and the AICC headquarters in Delhi, party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry announced here. The results of election will be declared on October 19, after ballots from all PCC offices reach Delhi and the votes polled are mixed before counting. "I have been waiting for a long time for this day," Congress chief Sonia Gandhi told reporters after voting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here. Sonia Gandhi, who had been the party president from 1998 to 2017, was made interim president after Rahul Gandhi resigned in 2019 over the party'

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Kharge vs Tharoor: Voting begins for Congress party presidential polls

Voting began on Monday in the Congress presidential polls as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor face-off for the post of AICC chief. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot. Voting began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here and at party's polling booths in state offices across the country. Veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram was the first to cast his vote at the AICC headquarters here, sources said. Kharge is considered the favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change. During the campaign, even though Tharoor raised issues of uneven playing field, both candidates and the party have maintained that the Gandhis are neutral and that there is no "official candidate". While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the AI

Kharge vs Tharoor on Monday as Cong set for non-Gandhi prez after 24 years

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor will face-off in an electoral contest on Monday for the post of AICC chief, as the party gets set to have a non-Gandhi president in over 24 years. Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot. Voting would also take place at the AICC headquarters here and at over 65 polling booths across the country in an electoral contest which is taking place for the sixth time in the party's 137-year history. While party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to vote at the AICC headquarters here, Rahul Gandhi will be voting at the Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Karnataka's Sanganakallu in Ballari along with around 40 other Bharat Yatris who are PCC delegates. Kharge is considered the firm favourite for his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and backing by senior leaders, even as Tharoor has pitched himself as t