Shashi Tharoor is running for Congress chief.
Mumbai:
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Sunday conceded the party’s quest to elect a new chief – its first non-Gandhi boss in 23 years – was off to a shaky start with the introduction of a pro-establishment candidate in his opponent Mallikarjun Kharge.
“There are some aspects that suggest an uneven playing field,” he said at an NDTV townhall in Mumbai, disclosing some leaders had told him they were “under pressure” to back Mr Kharge, seen as choice of the Gandhis.
However, he refused to ascribe any blame on party chief Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul Gandhi.
“The Gandhi family has made it clear, also through Mr [Madhusudan] Mistry, that there’s no official candidate. I am assuming that there’s no official candidate. But some people in the party are assuming that there’s an official candidate,” Mr Tharoor said.
“I have to take the word of my party president and the Gandhi family. I always expected that there would be a senior candidate and senior leaders would rally behind him. And that’s apparent with his [Mr Kharge’s] nomination form and his campaign trail. Wherever he goes, there are leaders. But wherever I am going, there are normal citizens,” he added.
“When I called him to wish him [Mr Kharge] well – I want to make sure there was no hard feeling – he said to me, ‘I would prefer a consensus but there’s no such thing in a democracy’,” Mr Tharoor said.
“He never asked me to withdraw. But had he asked me to, I had to say ‘I am sorry’. I have never run away from any challenge in my life,” he added.