Page 7 - Shashi Tharoor

Priyanka's presence in Parliament will be huge asset to Congress: Tharoor

Priyanka Gandhi's presence in the Lok Sabha would strengthen the opposition benches and Wayanad would have a very strong person to represent them in Parliament, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday. Tharoor, speaking to the PTI on the sidelines of his 'thanksgiving' campaign in Neyyattinkara Assembly constituency, said Priyanka has been a very effective orator during the election campaigns and he was happy that she decided to enter electoral politics from Kerala. "I think Rahulji absolutely had to keep Rae Bareli, it is a very important signal to the people of Uttar Pradesh and of North India in general. "At the same time, he did not want to feel that he was abandoning the people of Wayanad and it is better to entrust it to his own sister. So I think it is a wonderful decision," Tharoor said as he travelled through the constituency in an open vehicle, thanking the voters. He said the same was his preference for the last few weeks, when it was clear tha

Tharoor responds to Chandrasekhar's post about ending his public life

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faced a tough contest from BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar. However, Tharoor has responded to Chandrasekhar's announcement on Sunday about stepping down from public life after 18 years. Chandrasekhar, who was a Minister of State in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, had initially posted on X about ending his public life but later clarified that he meant his tenure as a Member of Parliament and Minister of State had concluded. He promptly deleted his initial post--"Today curtains down on my 18-year stint in public service, of which three years I had the privilege to serve with PM @narendramodi ji's TeamModi2.0. I certainly didn't intend to end my 18 years of public service as a candidate who lost an election, but that's how it's turned out." Shortly thereafter, Chandrasekhar deleted the post and issued a new one saying that the earlier one was by an intern and it "created some confusion among a section of people ab

Don't see myself contesting another Lok Sabha election: Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said if the next Lok Sabha polls take place five years down the line, he does not see himself contesting another election for the Lower House as he believes that one needs to know when to step aside for the younger blood to come in. In Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, Tharoor beat Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar by 16,077 votes to register his fourth straight victory from the constituency. Asked if this election was his electoral politics swansong, Tharoor told PTI, "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." "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 havin

Tharoor bats for Rahul as LoP; says he was 'man of match' of LS polls

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday hailed Rahul Gandhi as "the man of the match" of the Lok Sabha polls and said it would only be fitting that he takes on the mantle of the Leader of Opposition in the house. In an interview with PTI after his fourth-straight Lok Sabha polls victory, Tharoor said the message of the mandate was that the electorate have given a "comeuppance" to the BJP's "overweening arrogance" and its "my way or the high way attitude". "It will be a challenge for Mr (Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah who have not been used to consulting very much in running their government and I think this is going to test their ability to change their way of functioning and be more accommodative and more conciliatory within the government and also I hope with the opposition," Tharoor said on the incoming coalition government of the NDA. The former Union minister said this time the Modi-led NDA government could prove to be a 'majboor sarkaar' (helpless government) on some ...

Lok Sabha polls 2024: What election results look like at 12 pm on June 4

Lok Sabha elections 2024: BJP leads in 236 constituencies, Rahul Gandhi leads in both Raebareli and Wayanad

Chandrasekhar concedes defeat to Tharoor; claims Kerala supporting BJP

BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday conceded defeat to Congress' Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, but said that the election result in Kerala indicates that people are increasingly supporting the saffron party. Chandrasekhar, who is the Union Minister of State for Information Technology in the outgoing cabinet, told PTI that it was "disappointing" that he lost, even though the BJP fought a very strong battle in the state. "We have come very close and have set a record margin and vote share. It shows that people of Kerala are increasingly supporting the BJP. It is disappointing that I couldn't win today, but fought a clean campaign. We didn't use divisiveness like our opposition. Growth of BJP in Kerala is completely expected and will continue," he said.

BJP should focus on development, instead of communalism: Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who won a fourth consecutive time from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, on Tuesday said that the poll results were a lesson for the BJP that they do better when they go on other tracks, like development, instead of communalism. Tharoor said that the poll results were also a "serious message by the electorate to the BJP that their kind of governance needs to improve colossally". The Congress leader said that the saffron party will be able to appeal to voters in Kerala only if it goes beyond the "classic sort of north Indian BJP template". "... I always felt that the BJP was hitting a ceiling in Kerala because of the communalism embodied in their messaging. That when they go on other tracks they do better. Whether it was the development track that Rajeev Chandrasekhar espoused here or the conscious outreach to minorities and for sure by Suresh Gopi. "When you go beyond the classic sort of north Indian BJP template, only then can you appeal to vot

Shashi Tharoor vs Rajeev Chandrasekhar: Who is winning Thiruvananthapuram?

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Thiruvananthapuram has been a stronghold of the Congress and Communist Party of India (CPI)

Exit polls 2024: How political leaders reacted to pollsters' predictions

Exit polls for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections project a big victory for the BJP-led NDA. BJP leaders welcomed the predictions, while Opposition dismissed them as a 'psychological and corporate game'

Yogendra Yadav's revised poll prediction 'fascinates' Tharoor. Here's why

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's reaction followed Yadav's recent interview where he suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party could secure fewer than 250 seats

Delhi Customs detains Shashi Tharoor's aide in alleged gold smuggling case

A passenger travelling from Dubai attempted to deliver over 500 gms of gold to Tharoor's aide at Delhi International Airport. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor respond

INDIA bloc PM will be first among equals, will listens to others: Tharoor

Opposition parties, campaigning together or against each other, will join hands after the Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, asserting that the people will get a prime minister who is first among equals and listens to others with an INDIA bloc coalition government. Including the Trinamool Congress in his argument on opposition parties getting together after the day of reckoning on June 4, Tharoor said in an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters that a coalition government is nothing to be afraid of. The growth performance of the Indian economy has been better under such dispensations than under single party governments, he said. In his view, this is an election for "change" and as of now the BJP has "lost its grip" on the narrative. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also defended the party's decision to not attend the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it was right to turn down the invitation as it w

INDIA bloc PM will be first among equals, all parties will join: Tharoor

Opposition parties, campaigning together or against each other, will join hands after the Lok Sabha polls, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, asserting that the people will get a prime minister who is first among equals and listens to others with an INDIA bloc coalition government. Including the Trinamool Congress in his argument on opposition parties getting together after the day of reckoning on June 4, Tharoor said in an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters that a coalition government is nothing to be afraid of. The growth performance of the Indian economy has been better under such dispensations than under single party governments, he said. In his view, this is an election for "change" and as of now the BJP has "lost its grip" on the narrative. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also defended the party's decision to not attend the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it was right to turn down the invitation as it w

'400 paar' joke, '300 paar' impossible, 200 paar challenge for BJP: Tharoor

The BJP's claim of '400 paar' is a joke, '300 paar' impossible and even '200 paar' may be a challenge in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said, terming the ruling party's loss a foregone conclusion. In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters here, Tharoor also claimed the BJP will draw a blank in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and will do worse than its 2019 performance in the South. Tharoor, who was locked in a three-way contest with Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP and P Raveendran of the CPI in Thiruvananthapuram where polling took place on April 26, said he is looking at a "very comfortable win". If he emerges victorious, it will be a fourth consecutive win for the author-politician from Thiruvananthapuram, who is the longest-serving MP from the constituency. Back in Delhi after a nearly two month high voltage campaign in Thiruvananthapuram, the Congress Working Committee member will now canvass in other parts of

LS polls Highlights: Nearly 61% turnout recorded in 2nd phase of elections

Eighty-eight Lok Sabha seats (including parts of the outer Manipur seat), across 13 states and Union Territories, are set to vote today

LS polls: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor casts his vote in Thiruvananthapuram

Tharoor, who has held the seat since 2009, is facing a challenge as the BJP has named a strong face against him. Chandrashekhar has served as the MoS

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 2: Over 9% voter turnout recorded till 9 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The second phase will see voting in 88 constituencies in 13 states and Union territories (UTs)

Tharoor or Chandrasekhar? Kerala's capital braces for battle of titans

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP's O Rajagopal gave Tharoor a tough fight as the latter defended his seat only by a margin of less than 16,000 votes

LS polls: Rahul, Tharoor in fray; Hema Malini, Om Birla seek hat-trick

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, and actor-turned-politician Arun Govil are among the key candidates in the fray for the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls with BJP's Hema Malini, Om Birla and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking a hat-trick of wins from their respective constituencies. Staggered over seven stages, the first phase of the elections held last Friday for 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories saw a voter turnout of around 65.5 per cent. In the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday, polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, seven in Madhya Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. Gandhi is the sitting MP from Wayanad in Kerala and is seeking re-election. He is pitted against CPI's Annie Raja and BJP's K Surendran. In the 201

Kerala will defeat disconnected elements: Nadda takes a swipe at Tharoor

BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday attacked Congress leader and its Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat candidate Shashi Tharoor for his "disdain, elitism and arrogance", claiming that people of Kerala will defeat him. Nadda tagged media reports showing the diplomat-turned-politician having a dig at the BJP, saying the only account the party can open in the state is bank accounts. Tharoor was apparently referring to the central government's signature programme to open bank accounts of the poor across the country to have a go at the BJP's drive to open its Lok Sabha account in Kerala where it has never won a seat. The BJP president said on X, "We are proud that our Government opens Bank Accounts for the poor! Congress never bothered about it as they only cared about vote banks and bank accounts of one dynasty. Kerala will defeat such disconnected elements!" The BJP has fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against him from the high profile seat which has sent Tharoor to Lok Sabh