National results disappointing, Kerala exemplar of Congress' politics: Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday expressed disappointment over the poor performance of Congress at a national level while also hailing the party's performance in Kerala as the 'exemplar of Congress' politics".

In Kerala, Congress is leading on 15 seats and trailing on one.

"Since 1997, we never had such a good result in Kerala. We are winning 19 and we may as well all 20 seats. The state has become an exemplar for what the politics of the Congress nationally could be. I just hope we will be able to build from the very disappointing result nationally because ours is the right message for future growth and prosperity in India", Tharoor told ANI.

He also accused BJP of running a blatantly communal campaign in the state and said, "BJP is not winning even single seat in the state. Confident of winning on Sabarimala issue, BJP ran a nakedly communal campaign; they had nothing constructive to offer."

He also criticised the five-year rule of BJP and said, "Last five years were disastrous. Unemployment record time high, farmer suicide mounting, exports down, industrial production down, economic growth 2 per cent less than before, So what could BJP offer. They had no choice other than this usual Hinduism in danger, protect Sabarimala kind of messages. But in Kerala, such kind of message had its own limitations."

Tharoor, who is currently leading from Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency also exuded confidence of being the longest serving MP from the seat and said, "In the history of our democracy, No MP has served this constituency for more than 12 years. If I complete this term, I will be the longest serving MP of this constituency. I am grateful to the trust people have reposed in me. I will serve them to the best of my capability."

Counting for the Lok Sabha elections are ongoing for all parliamentary constituencies of the country. Early trends are projecting an easy majority of its own.