With several high-level exits, the festering crisis of leadership within the Congress party has surfaced yet again. And many senior leaders who have stuck with the flock, perhaps with the hope of an inevitable promotion, are fancying their chances of landing the post of party president. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, according to reports, is one such Congress leader eyeing the top post.
Speculations are rife in political and media circles that Tharoor is exploring the possibility of running for the post of Congress president, though he is yet to take a final call on it, sources reported by media claim. Media reports claim that Shashi Tharoor is all set to throw his hat in the ring in the forthcoming elections to elect a new president for the Congress party.
Tharoor has reportedly declined to comment on whether he is interested in taking the reins of the Congress party but had recently authored an article in the Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’ arguing in favour of a “free and fair” election.
On asked about his plans to run for the Congress president post, Shashi Tharoor said, “I have no comment to make. I accept what I’ve written in my article, which is that an election would be a good thing for the Congress party,” the former Union Minister said, referring to his article in the Malayalam daily “Mathrubhumi”.
In his article, Mr Tharoor said the party should have ideally announced elections for the dozen seats on the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that are supposed to be elected as well.
“Members elected from the AICC and PCC delegates ascertaining who will lead the party from these key positions would help authorise the incoming set of leaders and grant them the legitimacy to lead the party,” Tharoor wrote in his article.
“Nevertheless, electing a new president would serve to re-energise the party,” Tharoor contended.
The senior Congress leader further added that having elections will have other beneficial effects, too, adding, “We have witnessed the global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race, a phenomenon similar to the one that took place in 2019, when a dozen candidates contested to replace Theresa May, and Boris Johnson emerged on top.”
Tharoor said a similar scenario for the Congress party might attract national attention toward the party and get more voters within the fold of the Congress party once again.
“For these reasons, I hope several candidates come forward and nominate themselves for consideration. Presenting their visions for the party and the nation is surely going to inspire confidence and public interest,” he added.
Tharoor also emphasised the need for the Congress to stage a comeback at the national level, given that the void is being filled by strong regional parties that are now aspiring to play a larger role in national politics.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP had also cut out the two important tasks the candidate elected to lead the party will have to undertake. First, the candidate must energise the Congress party workers and second, he or she should also inspire voters.
“The candidate must have a definite plan to fix what ails the party and have a robust vision for India. After all, a political party is an instrument to serve the country, not an end in itself,” he said.
While media reports have relied on Shashi Tharoor’s latest article in Mathrubhumi to speculate his run for the party presidentship, it would, nevertheless, be an arduous task for him to ascent to the highest position in a party replete with sycophants who would rather have a Gandhi family member run the party than hand over the reins of the party to anyone other than the Gandhis, which could rob them of the privileges that they have come to enjoy under the aegis of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.