Tharoor jumping the gun? AICC will decide who does what: Anwar

Thiruvananthapuram: The AICC has criticized party leaders for making public claims about their candidature in elections. Several party MPs, including Shashi Tharoor, had expressed their interest to shift to state politics, drawing flak from other leaders and members.
AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar, who is in charge of Kerala affairs, on Wednesday said the leaders should first convey their wish to the party high command and not make public statements. There is a process and mechanism to decide candidates in elections. It is the party and high command that decide who should contest where, he said.

Anwar had reached the state capital on Wednesday to attend the KPCC executive committee meeting. Reacting to reporters' queries on Tharoor’s statement that he would concentrate on state politics, the AICC general secretary said: "He should convey his wish first to the party high command. It is not proper to make public statements on such matters."
On Tharoor’s statement that many people want him to be seen as the chief minister of the state, he said: "There is a mechanism and process in electing the legislature party leader. It is up to the party high command to decide who should lead the MLAs."
Senior leader K Muraleedharan, meanwhile, said such claims from MPs were giving a wrong impression that the Congress would not succeed in the next Lok Sabha election. "They claim that they will not be contesting to the Lok Sabha again. It is unfortunate that they make such claims. The party is gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the assembly elections are scheduled only in 2026. The party and its leaders should focus more on the Lok Sabha elections. Such statements will only give a negative impression," he said.
He also said he would convey to the leadership his wish to contest again from Vadakara Lok Sabha seat. "The party will need more MPs from the state to wrest power at the Centre. I am willing to contest from my seat again if the party allows me to do so," he said.