THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor, who rose to stardom in national politics through the Congress president election, is becoming a force that cannot be ignored in the Kerala unit of Congress.

The public support for Shashi Tharoor, by leaders, including those loyal to the traditional groups in the state Congress, has raised the profile of Tharoor. The AICC leadership is also finding it difficult to keep Shashi Tharoor away. There is talk that Tharoor is fit to influence the ever-growing middle and upper classes. It remains to be seen how the Congress will effectively utilize the acceptance of Shashi Tharoor in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, Tharoor's limitation in reaching out to the country's vast majority base population is a major drawback.

A political change of heart by those who did not hesitate to declare public support for Shashi Tharoor even when their own group leaders supported Mallikarjun Kharge, could pave the way for a new corrective force in Congress in Kerala. Congress leaders in Kerala had expected that Tharoor would secure only a maximum of 50 votes from Kerala. However, Tharoor's supporters are claiming that he got 120 to 130 votes. 130 votes out of 294 polled is not a small achievement. Even after the contest, the reactions of Hibi Eden, Sabarinathan and others reflect the youth's sentiment towards Tharoor.

In 2009, Shashi Tharoor first entered the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket from Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala leadership had always maintained a distance from Tharoor ever since he ventured into Indian politics after the United Nations Secretary-General election defeat. It can't be like that anymore. Tharoor's acceptance is annoying senior leaders. At the same time, critics question whether Shashi Tharoor, with his five-star culture, has the tact to win over the grassroots in India.

Tharoor meets Sonia Gandhi
After his defeat in the Congress president election, Shashi Tharoor on Thursday Yesterday met current party chief Sonia Gandhi. The meeting took place at Sonia's residence in Janpath, Delhi. Sonia Gandhi said that the Kharge-Tharoor competition was successful in ensuring intra-party democracy in the Congress. Tharoor thanked the high command for its support.