Congress could pick ‘wrong’ party leader
LOYALIST KHARGE TIPPED TO WIN, BUT THAROOR ‘MAY BE’ BETTER OPTION
AUTHOR and MP Shashi Tharoor, who is standing for the post of president of the Congress party in India, has said he would like debates similar to the ones between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in Britain.
Tharoor, 66, who was under-secretary general of the United Nations in New York before entering Indian politics, is up against 80-yearold Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.
It is not very often that the 137-year-old Congress party holds elections for internal posts. It has basically been run in recent decades by Rajiv Gandhi’s widow, Sonia Gandhi, and her son, Rahul. He is considered a nice chap, but not very good at winning elections.
As things stand, Congress is expected to lose a third time in a row to Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the next general election in 2024.
Sonia and Rahul have indicated they will not back either candidate, but Kharge is tipped to win because he is considered to be loyal to the Gandhi family.
Around 9,000 party delegates across the country will vote for a new Congress president on October 17, with results likely to be declared two days later.
We know Shashi to be an entertaining speaker, because he comes to Britain frequently to promote his books, which include Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India.
Assessing the relative merits of the two candidates, the Indian Hindu newspaper suggested the wrong man will emerge the winner.
It said: “This rare event is being watched keenly by the friends and foes of the Congress. Mr Kharge is an insider too – with all its baggage, but none of its benefits. He’s soft and polite, but at 80, he is past his prime.
“While the BJP is retiring leaders at 75 to promote younger, dynamic faces that appeal to newer social frontiers, the Congress is held captive by the tired and the tiring.
“Mr Kharge does not move the needle for the Congress. As president, he is unlikely to move or move anything.
“It’s Mr Tharoor who speaks to a constituency that is not with the Congress now. The Indian middle class is upset with the BJP, but it does not look at the Congress party as a viable alternative.
“Mr Tharoor has been tested thrice in Thiruvananthapuram, which is by no means an easy Lok Sabha constituency for the Congress. He came out with flying colours.
“More than anything else, the Congress needs to tell and sell a story to the Indian voters. He’s what the Congress needs but, alas, won’t get.”
This is a tale of another political party making the wrong choice.