Page 3 - Shashi Tharoor

Embrace change, show courage, says Tharoor in final appeal to Cong electors

Calling on electors to show courage to "embrace change", Congress' presidential polls candidate Shashi Tharoor on Sunday asserted that in the change he envisions, the party's "values and loyalties" will remain the same with only the ways of achieving the goals undergoing a transformation. In his "last appeal" to the over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates who constitute the electoral college to pick the next AICC chief, Tharoor noted that from his conversations over the last few days he gathered that many of them may have concerns or hesitation about change. While Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change, Kharge is considered the favourite and the 'unofficial official candidate' with a large number of senior leaders backing him. "It is natural to have concerns about change in any organisation of the scale and size like ours, that's why I want to address this directly," Tharoor said in his video appeal which he posted on Twitter. "In the conversations tha

Tharoor's 'netagiri' jibe at Kharge camp on eve of Congress president polls

Congress presidential poll candidate Shashi Tharoor on Sunday took a veiled dig at the Kharge camp saying some colleagues were "indulging in 'netagiri' and telling party workers" that they know whom Sonia Gandhi wants elected. If anyone has "fear or doubt" in their mind, the party has made it clear that it will be a secret ballot, he said and urged the Congress delegates to listen to their hearts while voting to elect the new party president. "I also asked Sonia Gandhi how she views the elections. She said that it is very good for the party, and you fight with full courage ('himmat'), and we will stay neutral. She had said that there will be no official candidate from their side," Tharoor told reporters at the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who is contesting against veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the Monday election, emphasised on "decentralisation" in the organisation so that "'all decisions are not taken in Delhi. He said that there should b

As Cong prez poll nears climax, focus to shift on Gehlot-Pilot duel in Raj

After the fate of the electoral fight for the post of the next Congress president between Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor gets sealed on Monday, focus will shift to long-running rivalry between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his bete noire Sachin Pilot for who gets to call the shots in the largely desert state. Late last month, the matter had come to a head after 82 Congress MLAs in Rajasthan did not attend an official legislature party meeting convened for passing a resolution authorising the Congress chief to appoint a successor to Gehlot, who was then about to contest the Congress presidential election, and participated in a parallel meeting at Gehlot loyalist Shanti Dhariwal's residence in Jaipur. While Gehlot has long been known as a loyalist to the first family of the country's oldest party, his position as the Gandhis' confidant is said to have been dented with the developments last month. Pilot, who had rebelled against Gehlot's leadership in 2020, is seen a

Congress youngsters with me, seniors backing Kharge: Shashi Tharoor

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Saturday claimed that youngsters and people in lower levels of the party are supporting him, while seniors are backing his rival Mallikarjun Kharge. He also asserted that no Congress president can function keeping a distance from the Gandhi family as their DNA runs through the party's blood. "I am getting support from the young voters. I am getting good feedback from the lower levels. The seniors are going with Kharge. We have been talking about change and older people resist it," Tharoor told a press conference as part of his campaign trail here. While conceding that many party office bearers have been campaigning for his rival candidate openly, he pointed out that the election will be held through secret ballots and weightage of the vote of a senior leader and a lower rank member is the same. It would be foolish on the part of any Congress president to distance himself from the Gandhis as the Gandhi family is popular and their DNA

LIVE: Congress only party that wants everyone included, says Tharoor

LIVE news updates: Doesn't matter if Kharge Sahab wins or I win - Congress should win as it's a party of inclusive India, said Shashi Tharoor

Try to hold an election of your own first: Tharoor slams BJP's Malviya

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Saturday slammed BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya over his dig at the AICC chief elections, saying "we are perfectly capable of resolving our own internal differences" and don't need his involvement in the polls. Tharoor also took a swipe at the BJP and said try to hold an election of "your own first". Taking a dig at the Congress, Malviya had tweeted, "It is finally dawning on Tharoor that the CP (Congress president) election, with no level playing field, is a farce. He hasn't been provided a list of delegates with proper details." "State presidents are enthusiastic about Kharge but don't even turn up for him! Gandhis will soon have MMS 2.0 version," the BJP leader had said. Hitting back at Malviya, Tharoor tweeted, "We are perfectly capable of resolving our own internal differences within @incIndia, @amitmalviya. We don't need your involvement in our party's election (sic)." "Try to hold one of your own first," he said. Tha

Will take everyone along if elected Congress president, says Tharoor

Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said if elected Congress president, he will take everyone along and maintained the Gandhi family can not be kept away from party affairs. Addressing a press conference here, Tharoor said he was gladdened by the reception he has received from party workers in Madhya Pradesh and admitted he did not get such a welcome in other states which he toured as part of his election campaign for the top party post. The Thiruvananthapuram MP is pitted against veteran Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge for the polls to the party's highest post scheduled for October 17. Poll results will be declared on October 19. The diplomat-turned-politician said he has no enmity with Kharge, adding on the latter's 80th birthday, he penned a tribute listing achievements of his senior party colleague. "Even after elections we are going to work together like in the past," the former Union minister said. Queried on suggestions that he may start taking unilateral decisions if ele

Kharge taunts Tharoor, says he will implement only Udaipur declaration

Taking a swipe at his contender, Shashi Tharoor, in the AICC presidential poll, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said here on Friday that he has no separate manifesto but only a single-point agenda to implement the party's Udaipur declaration. Tacitly referring to the Thiruvananthapuram MP Sashi Tharoor, who threw down the gauntlet at him in the race for the top position in the party, Kharge said, "I don't have any manifesto like others. I have only one manifesto that is the Congress manifesto. That is the Udaipur declaration made 4 months ago will be implemented if I am elected." Earlier this month while launching his election campaign for Tamil Nadu at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress State headquarters, Tharoor released his manifesto and said his message was to revive the party, re-energise it, empower workers, decentralise authority and be in touch with the people. "This, I believe, will make Congress politically fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the

The Congress president's election: All you need to know about its history

As Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor battle it out, here is a concise history of the Congress party's presidency

Some leaders openly supporting Kharge disturbs level-playing field: Tharoor

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Thursday lamented that some leaders had openly come out in support of his poll opponent Mallikarjun Kharge and even summoned meetings in his favour, saying it disturbed the level-playing field. The Thiruvananthapuram MP also said several PCC chiefs and senior leaders were not available for a meeting with him during his visits to their respective states, but they warmed up to Kharge when he visited them seeking support. Seeking votes from delegates at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) here, Tharoor said he wanted to bring a "change" in the organisation. He also said aimed to "bring back" the voters who did not support the Congress in the 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "I want to bring a change in the party. I want to bring back those voters who didn't stand by our side in 2014 and 2019," he told the delegates. Tharoor further rued that he could not meet some delegates as their contact details were "missing" from the li

Tharoor hails Congress' decision to have secret ballot for party prez polls

Congress's presidential election candidate Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the party's Central Election Authority to have a secret ballot in the polls for the grand old party's top post, and said it would enable all delegates to be able to vote as per their wish. He also said that this presidential election was important for the party to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha election with courage and confidence. "The system of election as declared by the (Congress) Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Madhusudan Mistry is very good. He talked about the secret ballot...Voting will be carried out secretly and nobody gets to know who voted for whom...People can vote as per their wish," Tharoor told reporters during his election campaign here. He was referring to Mistry's press conference held in Delhi earlier in the day, where he said that the Congress's presidential polls will be held by a secret ballot and no one will get to know who voted for whom in order to ensure

I appreciate that I'm seen as the underdog in Congress election: Tharoor

Political career spent defending the values of inclusive India, allegations of disloyalty to Nehru Gandhi family malicious: Congress MP

Will call for CWC elections if elected Congress chief: Shashi Tharoor

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday asserted that if he becomes the AICC chief, he would fully implement the party's existing constitution which requires CWC elections and revival of the parliamentary board that has been dormant for a quarter-century. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor also said the Congress must decentralise authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party. The Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said he would fully implement the Udaipur Declaration which was unanimously agreed at the party's Chintan Shivir earlier this year. Asked about his plans for the party if he wins the electoral contest against Mallikarjun Kharge for the top post, the former Union minister said, "I think an important first step would be to call for elections to the Working Committee to spread our inner-party democracy even further." "I am going to implement fully the existing Constitution, which requires CWC elections and the revival of the ...

Cong president poll: Kharge to visit Bhopal today, Tharoor on Oct 14

Veteran Congress leader and party's presidential poll candidate Mallikarjun Kharge will visit the state capital today as part of his campaign for the October 17 election

Shashi Tharoor to campaign in Gujarat today for Congress presidential poll

Congress presidential election candidate Shashi Tharoor will be in Gujarat on Wednesday to campaign for the upcoming poll to the top party post. Besides Congress MP Tharoor, veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge is also in the race for the party president's post, the election for which is scheduled on October 17. The result will be announced on October 19. Tharoor will begin his Gujarat visit by paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Wednesday afternoon. Thereafter, he will interact with Congress delegates and media, as per the schedule shared by the party. Kharge was in Gujarat last week to campaign for the Congress president post election. He had also paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram before meeting party delegates.

Cong Prez candidate Tharoor calls himself a catalyst of change in party

Emphasizing the need to win the trust of the voters again, Tharoor said to revive the party's presence in the country, he could act as a catalyst of change for the grand old party

Contest with Tharoor is for betterment of country and Congress: Kharge

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said his contest with Shashi Tharoor for the post of party president was aimed at putting forth their viewpoints for the betterment of the country and the party. Kharge said this during an interaction with party delegates at Congress office here, where he sought their support for the AICC presidential election. This is an internal election. It is like two brothers at home, who are not fighting, but placing their points of view and trying to persuade each other, he said. The Congress party veteran said the election campaign was not about what a particular candidate will do if he becomes the president of the party, but what they can do together. My belief is... What I will do is not the question. The question is what we both will do together for the country and for the party, this is important. Let us not talk about whether I will do this or that, or talk about someone else. How will you (party workers) and me together make the party ...

Both poll contenders people of stature, neither can be controlled: Rahul

As Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor fight it out for the Congress chief's post, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described both as people of stature and understanding, and asserted that it was insulting to suggest that either of them can be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family as party president. Addressing a press conference here during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said lakhs of people have joined the yatra as they are tired of the type of politics being done under the BJP and the prevailing unemployment, price rise and economic inequality. A day after Gautam Adani pledged huge investments in Rajasthan, Gandhi, who has often accused the Modi government of favouring the industrialist, said the Congress government in the state has not given any preferential treatment to the businessman, and asserted that he is not against corporates but monopolies. Asked about criticism from certain quarters that the next Congress president could be remote-controlled by the Gandhi family, the former part

'Tharoor's appeal goes beyond Congress, party needs reformist thinking'

Voicing strong support for Shashi Tharoor in the Congress presidential poll, party MP Karti Chidambaram on Saturday said the former diplomat's pragmatic modernism coupled with his appeal beyond the party is crucial to fight against the BJP's "divisive politics". Chidambaram also asserted that business as usual will not help the Congress and there is an urgent need for reformist thinking in 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 MP from Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga said. "Status quo and business as usual won't help our party. There's an urgent need for reformist thinking in our party," said Chidambaram, who was among those who signed Tharoor's nomination forms for the Congress presidential polls as proposers. Responding to a social media user who claimed that Tharoor is everything that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) propagates as "English-enabl

Calling Kharge or Tharoor remote control is insulting, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has countered BJP on party presidential polls and said that both the contestants have statures of their own