Shashi Tharoor rules out Kerala CM role, says UDF can win 85–100 seats

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday (March 19) ruled out the possibility of him becoming the chief ministerial probable in Kerala as he is not a candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Tharoor, in an interview with PTI, pointed out that since he was not a candidate in the Kerala Assembly elections, he does not have to remain confined to one constituency, adding that his role in the elections would be a “mixed bag.”

The MP said that he was keen on going "up and down the length and breadth of the state" to campaign. He also referred to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's advice to UDF leaders recently, in which he metaphorically asked them to "dance together", and said it was a "good message" to give, and now "everyone is dancing together".

UDF expectations and political strategy

Tharoor also said that while he would be happy with a majority, a figure between 85-100 seats would be good for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 140-member assembly.

Also Read: Shashi Tharoor backs Centre’s Iran war stance, calls it ‘responsible statecraft’

Using cricketing analogy, Tharoor said the UDF is bowling "googlies" particularly to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) because "they are on a sticky wicket and we can catch them on that".

The MP from Thiruvananthapuram also said that with elections becoming more and more presidential in nature, he personally favours projecting a probable CM face ahead of the polls, but in Kerala, the Congress has the ability to deliver results not around an individual face or a name but around an agenda, a mission and the party logo.

Debate over leadership model

Asked whether not having a face in the campaign could affect the Congress' chances with LDF, which has the definite face of incumbent CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Tharoor said, "Personally I tend to agree with what you've said in the sense that we could have gone that route but as was pointed out to me by the party leadership, the Congress has never done that.

"They have chosen to take the approach that the election is for a party, and once the party has won, it will choose its leader, which means in effect, the high command, having consulted the elected MLAs, will choose a leader," he said.

Also Read: Tharoor’s witty take on Kerala being renamed 'Keralam'

"You and I may have a different view. In my own case, I have been watching the evolution of elections in our country and even though we are a parliamentary system on the face of it, in practice, all parties are run presidentially and all elections are conducted in that way. So, for there to be a situation where you don't have a visible leader in a state inevitably tends to hurt you.

"But having said all of that, the Congress has a wide footprint in the state, it has deep resonance right across Kerala, it has presence in every mohalla, every village, every ward and that gives the Congress the ability to deliver results not around an individual face or a name but around an agenda, around a mission and around the party logo," Tharoor said.

Kerala approach vs other states

He said this may not be the best recipe elsewhere, and certainly in Assam, it is very clear that Gaurav Gogoi is the Congress face, while in other states, too, it has "similar sort of visible leaders".

Also Read: Shashi Tharoor backs Delhi AI Summit, says ‘some glitches’ normal at large event

“But in Kerala, this is the way we are going to do it and because of our depth and strength in Kerala, I think this is one state where maybe we will be able to get away with it,” Tharoor said.

To a pointed question as to whether he is a CM probable, Tharoor said, "No and not (a CM probable) for all sorts of good reasons, including the fact that I am not a candidate and I think that ideally the CM should be picked from one of the elected MLAs."

Poll timing concerns and allegations

He said Congress leaders were taken aback by "the very early" poll date of April 9, considering that under the Constitution, the Kerala Assembly only needs to sit on May 23, which means voting could have been anytime up to May 8.

Also Read: Mani Shankar Aiyar calls Shashi Tharoor 'anti-Pakistan', says he eyes 'foreign minister' role

"It is quite shocking that it is happening on April 9, especially since the announcement itself was much later on March 15. So basically, the Election Commission has given us about three weeks of campaigning. Most parties have not even announced their full slate of candidates. The nominations have to come in by Monday, and suddenly, you are going to have these nominated candidates having to face the electorate on April 9," Tharoor said.

He alleged that it seems that, on the face of it, this was almost designed to favour the incumbent governments of the CPM in Kerala, the BJP in Assam, and the local party in Puducherry, which are the three states that are voting on April 9.

Confidence in UDF

Exuding confidence of a UDF victory, Tharoor said there is 10 years of anti-incumbency against the LDF government, "its spectacular failures, financial crises, corruption scandals, and all sorts of issues" that have turned voters off the present government.

On whether all his issues had been resolved after his meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi a few weeks ago, Tharoor said, "My issues are essentially irrelevant to the state. I am not a candidate in the state election. It was more a question of being part of the team effort and I am very much part of the team effort. In fact, I am co-chair of the campaign committee."

(With agency inputs)