More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) representatives will vote in the election.
New Delhi:
Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, who is set to take on Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge for the post of Congress President, on Sunday said he is open to the idea of a public debate among candidates as it will increase the interest of the people in the party. Similar to the recent British Conservative Party leadership race.
He also said that the Nehru-Gandhi family always holds and will remain a special place in the hearts of the members of the Congress Party.
In an interview with PTI, Shashi Tharoor said the Congress’s answer to the current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organizational reforms.
Mr Kharge and Mr Tharoor were left in the fray for the Congress’ presidential election after the nomination of former Jharkhand minister KN Tripathi was rejected on Saturday.
Talking about what was brought to the table, Mr Tharoor said, “I have a proven and credible track record of leading at the highest levels of organisations, be it at the United Nations, where, as the Secretary-General in charge Of the body’s Department of Public Information, I managed the United Nations’ largest department of communications, consisting of more than 800 employees in 77 offices around the world, rationalizing its structure, reducing its budget, and channeling its efforts. Intensified – All these inspired me to contest elections to lead the United Nations Organization itself.
“Or, more recently for the Congress party, as the founder-president of the All India Professional Congress, which I had to build from scratch and have more than 10,000 fellows in 20 states in just five years since 2017. In terms of organizational reforms, the former Union minister said, he has outlined a set of priorities which he believes can help strengthen the Congress and take over the BJP’s machinery.
“Since our current position is widely condemned, it may be an advantage that the current party is not burdened with the burden of spending too much time in the organization and should be able to look at it from a new perspective,” 66 year- said the leader.
Asked whether he wanted a public debate among the party’s presidential candidates as is seen in many Western democracies and whether such an exercise would help delegates make up their mind, Mr. Tharoor said, “I’m up for the idea.” “We have no ideological differences, but rather a question of how we propose to achieve the objectives we have already agreed upon,” he said.
For one, there are about two-and-a-half weeks between the last date for submission of nominations and the date of the election and, therefore, it would be practically and logistically difficult to reach all the 9,000-odd delegates. He argued that those who are eligible to vote in these elections.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said, “In this sense, a platform where candidates can exchange their views and vision for the party in a constructive manner would potentially facilitate these visions to reach a greater number of delegates.” “
At the same time, such exchange of views will certainly draw a lot of interest from the non-voting sections too, be it other Congress workers, the media and even the general Indian public, he said.
“As I have often pointed out, the exchange of ideas between candidates can have beneficial effects for the party – for example, we have seen global interest in the British Conservative Party during his recent leadership race, a phenomenon known as We have already seen that in 2019. Tharoor said, when a dozen candidates contested to replace Theresa May and Boris Johnson emerged on top.
He said that repeating the similar scenario would increase the national interest in the Congress party and once again inspire more voters towards the party.
On a non-Gandhi president on the cards for the Congress and if the Gandhi family continues to occupy the place of prominence, Mr. Tharoor said, “Obviously, the Nehru-Gandhi family has always held a special place and always will be. The hearts of members of the Congress Party – and with good reason too.” He said that apart from the great legacy inherited from his great forefathers, he has consistently brought together different groups, ideologies, geographical regions and communities that collectively make up the Congress Party.
“He has a great record of success and experience in leading the party, both in government and during tough times in the jungle, when he still managed to rally the men and women of Congress together,” he said. ” They said.
“We must not forget what they have achieved for the party – or the ultimate sacrifice made by two former family presidents,” he said.
Mr Tharoor further said, “This is why many of us had publicly and privately expressed our hope that Rahul Gandhi would resume his leadership, an outcome that will undoubtedly be among the ranks and file of the party. will be the most popular.” With this unlikely to happen now, he said, he hopes the family will recognize that they are the pillars of Congress, moral conscience and the ultimate guiding spirit.
They cannot and should not step back from that role, no matter what formal position they want to retain, he said.
Mr Tharoor said on Friday that he was aware of his Dalit tag and spoke of an ‘official candidate’ in some quarters, but was repeatedly criticized by the Gandhi family – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Have been assured that they are “neither directly nor indirectly” supporting anyone.
According to the notification issued by the Congress on Thursday, the process of filing nominations for the elections was from September 24 to September 30.
The date for scrutiny of nomination papers was October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations was October 8.
The final list of candidates will be published on October 8 at 5 pm.
If needed, the polling will be held on October 17. The counting of votes will take place on October 19 and the result will be declared on the same day.
More than 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) representatives will vote in the election.