NEW DELHI: Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor on Friday clarified his position on his political future and said that he might not contest another Lok Sabha election if the next polls are held five years from now. Tharoor said people should know when to step aside for the ‘younger blood’.
“Not electoral politics but certainly Lok Sabha.I think I have done my bit and I honestly feel that at some point, we all need to know when to step aside for younger blood to come in and have a crack at it,” said Tharoor in an interview with news agency PTI.
“The Lok Sabha is certainly a very important institution. I have done my very best for my constituents and I will continue doing so but there are ways of serving in public life without necessarily having to do it that way. I think if the is five years from hence, I don’t really see myself at that stage wanting to have another go at the Lok Sabha,” the former Union minister said.
Regarding the close fight in his constituency, Tharoor acknowledged that CPI candidate Pannyan Raveendran secured two and a half lakh votes. He also pointed out that in the three areas represented by the CPI(M), the CPI candidate came last, while the BJP candidate came first, raising legitimate questions about how and why that happened.
“But the other is the three areas that are represented by the CPI(M), the CPI candidate came last and the BJP candidate came first. There are some legitimate questions being asked as to how exactly and why exactly that happened. But you know at the end of the day, a victory is a victory and we are savouring it as sweet,” Tharoor told PTI.
Commenting on the BJP’s first-ever Lok Sabha seat victory in Kerala, with actor-politician Suresh Gopi winning the Thrissur seat by a significant margin, Tharoor emphasized the need to take this development seriously. However, he noted that Gopi is not a typical BJP candidate, as he openly declared his secular credentials and appealed to minority voters, particularly the Christian community.
“But I must say Suresh Gopi, whom I know well and he supported me in 2009 is not a typical BJP candidate. He went out of his way to declare his secular credentials, appealed overtly to the minority voters in Thrissur particularly to the Christian community, and had this personal quality of being a celebrity candidate, a well regarded movie star as well as the host of the Malayalam edition of the Kaun Banega Crorepati,” said Tharoor.
(With inputs from agencies)
“Not electoral politics but certainly Lok Sabha.I think I have done my bit and I honestly feel that at some point, we all need to know when to step aside for younger blood to come in and have a crack at it,” said Tharoor in an interview with news agency PTI.
“The Lok Sabha is certainly a very important institution. I have done my very best for my constituents and I will continue doing so but there are ways of serving in public life without necessarily having to do it that way. I think if the is five years from hence, I don’t really see myself at that stage wanting to have another go at the Lok Sabha,” the former Union minister said.
Regarding the close fight in his constituency, Tharoor acknowledged that CPI candidate Pannyan Raveendran secured two and a half lakh votes. He also pointed out that in the three areas represented by the CPI(M), the CPI candidate came last, while the BJP candidate came first, raising legitimate questions about how and why that happened.
“But the other is the three areas that are represented by the CPI(M), the CPI candidate came last and the BJP candidate came first. There are some legitimate questions being asked as to how exactly and why exactly that happened. But you know at the end of the day, a victory is a victory and we are savouring it as sweet,” Tharoor told PTI.
Commenting on the BJP’s first-ever Lok Sabha seat victory in Kerala, with actor-politician Suresh Gopi winning the Thrissur seat by a significant margin, Tharoor emphasized the need to take this development seriously. However, he noted that Gopi is not a typical BJP candidate, as he openly declared his secular credentials and appealed to minority voters, particularly the Christian community.
“But I must say Suresh Gopi, whom I know well and he supported me in 2009 is not a typical BJP candidate. He went out of his way to declare his secular credentials, appealed overtly to the minority voters in Thrissur particularly to the Christian community, and had this personal quality of being a celebrity candidate, a well regarded movie star as well as the host of the Malayalam edition of the Kaun Banega Crorepati,” said Tharoor.
(With inputs from agencies)