Never expected big leaders' support, but need everyone's backing: Shashi Tharoor on Cong prez election

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 4: With campaigning for the Congress presidential poll kicking off, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said 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 statement by Tharoor, who arrived in Kerala as part of the poll campaigning, comes in the wake of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran publicly declaring his support for veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge for the party chief's post.

Tharoor, also the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, told reporters here he was not going to betray those who supported him till now in this endeavour of his by backing off from the election. "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.

He also said that while the "majority of his supporters are young party leaders and party workers", he needs support from everyone and was not going to discount anyone.

On being asked whether Sudhakaran's public support for Kharge was meant to discourage others from supporting him, Tharoor said, "Maybe. But I am not saying that. I do not need to decipher what is going on in people's minds. I will say one thing, whatever one says secretly or publicly, the ballot is secret.

"No one is going to know who voted for whom. People can vote according to their wishes and beliefs. They can decide whom they want to strengthen the party and prepare it to counter the challenges it would face in the future."

Regarding Sudhakaran's statement, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the KPCC chief probably expressed his personal decision and preference and "there is nothing wrong with that." "He cannot give a direction which is clear from the circular issued by the party debarring party office-bearers from campaigning for candidates. But please don't ask me about it. If the election authority wants to do something about it, it is up to them," he said.

The election circular issued by the party on Monday said that AICC general secretaries/ in-charges, secretaries, joint secretaries, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders, heads of frontal organisations, chiefs of departments, cells and all official spokespersons "shall not campaign for or against contesting candidates."

"If they wish to support any candidate, they must first resign from their organisational post, after that they participate in the campaign process," it said. The polling for the Congress presidential election will be held on October 17. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day. More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates will vote in the poll.