Congress leader Shashi Tharoor favored limiting the tenure of state presidents in the party and called for a revival and re-energisation of the Congress to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections. Denying rumors that he might opt out of the presidential race due to scant support, Tharoor said he was very much in the fray and receiving support from various quarters.
“My message is to revive the party, re-energize it, empower the workers, decentralize authority and be in touch with the people. I believe this will make the Congress politically fit to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the 2024 general elections,” Tharoor said during an interaction with media persons at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters, on Thursday.
Stating that he has respect and great respect for party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, Tharoor said the contest was friendly based on different approaches to counter the BJP and not ideological as both were from the same party. “We need to reform the way our party operates. We need to bring young people into the party and give them real authority. At the same time, we should respect hard-working and long-serving karyakartas more,” he said when publishing his election manifesto.
Decentralizing powers, strengthening the party at the booth level, using general secretaries for nation-building activities while rendering their services as responsible representatives of the state, and trusting state presidents by giving them a free hand in decision-making apart from limiting their tenure are among the 10 points highlighted in the manifest. “We need to reiterate the core beliefs of the Congress. We are a party of inclusive India, a party that believes in equal rights and is against oppression. This is an idea that we stood for and fought for and we need to reiterate,” he said.
If elected president, he promised to revive some institutions, such as the Parliamentary Council. The manifesto focuses on the need for the Congress to return to the ethos of social work, Tharoor added. “The party is not a machine that fights elections once in five years, but should live with and serve the people… we should connect with the people and work with them,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. Popular connect with the people is essential and this was illustrated by party leader Rahul Gandhi’s successful Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said.
Tharoor also said that he has been getting a huge amount of feedback from ordinary party workers, especially the youth. He said that it is very gratifying for him that the youth, who are the future, and also the majority in our country, are supporting him in the polls. People aged 35 and under make up 65 percent of our population. “It is their country, this is young India,” he said.
“I want Congress to be the party of young India. I want to represent the aspirations, dreams and hopes of young India, just as (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi tried 40 years ago and succeeded in initiating the telecom and IT revolution. We too must now move forward to take advantage of the opportunity available to young India. I am very happy to have the support of young people,” he said. Responding to a question, Tharoor said the party had a successful alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu and had good relations with the state government.
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