Amid the controversies surrounding his praise for the Left government in Kerala, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor once again slammed the Congress in Kerala, stating they had many leaders but "many feel that there were no ordinary workers".
He also reiterated his claim for the Chief Minister's post in Kerala, stating that opinion polls conducted by independent organisations show he was ahead of the others in leadership stakes in Kerala. "If the party wants to use that, I will be there for the party. If not, I have my own things to do. You should not think that I have no other option. I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world to give a talk," Tharoor told The Indian Express in a podcast.
His statement comes as Kerala leaders in the Congress openly expressed displeasure at the way Tharoor praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past and now the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government.
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However, Tharoor said several party workers felt there was an absence of ordinary workers in Congress in Kerala. He said that Congress needed to expand its appeal in the state if it didn't want to sit in the opposition for the third consecutive time in Kerala. For the last four decades, power alternated between Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala. However, in 2021, LDF bucked the trend and came to power for the second consecutive term.
Tharoor warned that the party can win both at the national and the state level only with its committed vote base. He added that the party needs 26-27 per cent additional votes to come to power. "If you look at the national level, the Congress vote was around 19%. Would we be fine with our own vote base? We need those who have not backed us in the last two elections," he added.
He said his appeal in his constituency Thiruvananthapuram extended beyond the party base.
