Kerala: Shashi Tharoor's rise will help solve leadership woes of Congress

KOZHIKODE: The four-day Malabar tour of Shashi Tharoor, which was viewed as a launch pad for the three-time Thiruvananthapuram MP to take up a larger role in state politics, ended on Wednesday, creating an unprecedented churn in Congress politics. It also established him as a force to be reckoned with as the Congress leader enjoys a wide appeal among diverse social, religious and community groups. Though Tharoor started his political innings 14 years ago, this was his first tour to a region outside his constituency on such a scale. The tour seemed to be a carefully-curated one with political astuteness visible both in its timing and the intended political outreach.
Apart from meeting UDF's key ally IUML and a host of Muslim and Christian leaders, Tharoor's programmes covered professional groups including lawyers, doctors apart from acclaimed writers and intellectuals, which were meant to ring home his appeal and standing.
Apart from being the political home ground of his close confidant MP MK Raghavan, the choice of Malabar was aimed at sending a clear message of Tharoor being a pan-Kerala leader. More importantly, it was intended to bolster a political message to the minority community about his unflinching secular credentials as the shift of minority votes away from the Congress was seen as a key reason for the electoral debacle in 2021.
The timing of his visit was significant as it sought to exploit the perceived leadership vacuum in the state Congress as many senior leaders are now hamstrung due to age and health reasons. It is no surprise that K Muraleedharan, who was critical of Tharoor contesting the AICC President election, put his weight behind him during his Malabar tour.
Though the tour predictably upset some leaders, who were unnerved by him eyeing the leadership role or try to become the CM face, and virtually cleaved the state unit into those who favoured his political outreach and those against it; his events saw a good turnout and generated an immense buzz. The backing he received from IUML, which thinks Tharoor can be an asset and bolster UDF's prospects, will hold him in good stead. For instance, after the MP met him on Wednesday, Thalassery bishop Mar Joseph Pamplany said like every neutral-thinking Malayali he also felt that Tharoor assuming a leadership position in state will be beneficial to society.
Tharoor has already shown that he is not averse to take on the traditional establishment of the party when he contested the AICC president election with 'Think Tomorrow Think Tharoor' slogan. The 1,072 votes he secured shows that there's an underlying craving for a change in the party, which he intends to tap in Kerala, after the back-to-back electoral reverses in the recent past.