Tharoor looks to become Congress’ CM face in Kerala

After Congress’ own presidential election, in which Shashi Tharoor was a losing contestant, politics in Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) is gaining momentum in which he has become a fulcrum of controversies within the party.

The activities he has undertaken include attending programmes assiduously, thus seeking more visibility and sending out the clear signal that he was the power-centre of Kerala Congress, a source said. He is projecting himself as the Chief Ministerial face of the party in Kerala, and has support on this on the ground.

A senior Congress leader said, “Before the elections, he was invited at district and block level programmes, but he would never attend them. After the loss in the presidential election, he has suddenly started going to block and district level programmes.”

“There is, moreover, a different kind of acceptance for Tharoor within and without the party,” he continued, “in the recently held AICC presidential elections, he got more than half the delegates’ votes from Kerala at around 120.” A section of Congress leaders believe he is not just attending programmes, but this is his reachout to gatherings with political ramifications. Subsequently, the party leaders have also accepted that

Tharoor is preparing to be a face worthy of given charge of the state by exercising his clout in the party and building his individual voter base. However, his politicking has made other ambitious leaders in the party insecure.

Responding to Shashi Tharoor’s Malabar tour, V.D. Satheesan, Leader of Opposition in the state, had recently said that no parallel activity or factionalism would be allowed in the party. However, it appears that there is no further public rift between the two. Party leaders indicate that since Tharoor is a popular leader, speaking against him will make him even more popular. Moreover, as the Bharat Jodo Yatra