Days after Ghulam Nabi Azad‘s exit, a senior Congress leader is in the spotlight yet again. This time, it’s not about a departure but about anticipation of a possible elevation within the grand old party. Shashi Tharoor’s latest article in the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi has generated buzz that he may be planning to run for the post of party president.
When asked about it by reporters, however, the Thiruvananthapuram MP on Tuesday said he had “no comment to make” but that he accepts what he wrote. Penning an article on Monday, the Congress leader said that a “free and fair election process would be a healthy way to go about settling the issue” of disgruntlement among several leaders in the grand old party. However, whether he would throw his hat into the ring or not was something he refused to comment on.
“I’ve absolutely no comment to make. I accept what I’ve written in my article which is that an election would be a good thing for Congress party,” he said, speaking to media persons in Thiruvananthapuram.
In the Mathrubhumi article, Shashi Tharoor said ideally the party should have announced elections also for the dozen seats on the CWC itself which 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,” said Tharoor, who was among the group of 23 leaders, who wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding organisational reforms.
“Still, electing a fresh president is a start towards the revitalisation the Congress badly needs,” he said, highlighting that he or she “should have a plan to fix what ails the party, as well as a vision for India. After all, a political party is an instrument to serve the country, not an end in itself.”
On the recent exit of party veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, Tharoor said that the latest in a steady spate of departures has been fuelling incessant media speculation and a daily dose of obituaries for the party. “Either way, a free and fair election process would be a healthy way to go about settling the issue. It would legitimise the mandate being offered to the incoming president,” Tharoor said.
The Congress on Sunday announced that the election for its president would be held on October 17, noting it was the only party in the country which follows such a democratic exercise. The result will be declared on October 19. Some leaders want Rahul Gandhi to assume charge again.
The filing of nomination would begin on September 24 and continue till September 30.
