Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that some of his colleagues had asked party leader Rahul Gandhi to seek withdrawal of the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s candidature for the party president post.
Speaking to reporters in Kerala, Tharoor, who filed his nomination for the post of party president on Friday, said that Gandhi said he will not ask the former to withdraw as a contest would benefit the grand old party.
“He reminded me that he has been saying so for the past 10 years that there should be a contest for the party chief’s post. He also told me that some persons have asked him to request me to withdraw my candidature. He told me he will not do so. He said I should not withdraw and that I should contest in the election,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.
Earlier in the day, Tharoor said that he never expected big leaders to support him and does not expect it even now, but at the same time he needs everyone’s backing.
The Congress MP’s remarks came after Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran publicly extended his support for veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge for the party chief’s post.
“I was not expecting any support from the big leaders of the party and I am not expecting that now either. In fact, I met party workers at Nagpur, Wardha and then Hyderabad. They are the ones asking me to contest and not back away from it.I assured them I will not back away. I will not betray those who have supported me till now. Their confidence in me is what gives me the strength to move forward,” he said.
Earlier, Tharoor had said if party leaders want change, they should choose him, adding that if they are satisfied with the party’s working style, they should vote for Kharge.
“This isn’t a battle…Let party workers choose, that’s our message. I’m saying that if you are satisfied with party’s working (style), vote for Kharge sahab. If you want a change, I’m there. But there’s no ideological problem…,” he added.
Tharoor, 66, had last week ruled out withdrawing from the contest, stressing that he has not taken the trouble of filing the nomination only to opt out later. He called his electoral competitor Kharge as a “candidate of continuity” and of “status quo”.
More than 9,100 delegates are eligible to cast their votes in Congress presidential election to be held on October 17. The result will be announced on October 19.
