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No Fear No Favour

Will Shashi Tharoor participate as compromised candidate in Congress Presidential Elections

Edited By: Divya Theria

24 September 2022 (New delhi): With nomination papers for the Congress presidential elections due to be filed on Saturday, it may not be a straight fight between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor after all. After the Gandhi family ruled itself out of the race, several names have popped up as potential candidates, including former Union minister Manish Tewari.

Is CM Kamal Nath also a part of this race?

According to sources close to Tharoor, he will pick up his nomination papers on Saturday. Though senior leader Digvijaya Singh has stated that he will not contest, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath‘s name is also being circulated. “Kamal Nath wants to be relevant in the state,” another leader explained.

Rahul Gandhi sidelined himself from this race

The Congress asked its spokespersons to refrain from commenting on anyone in the party poll fray. The directive came a day after spokesperson Gourav Vallabh dissed Tharoor. However, this internal political whirlwind is not going away. “Everybody is exploring. It is sinking in that the Gandhi family is not interfering since Rahul Gandhi made it clear that he is not in the race,” a senior leader said.

Will Shashi Tharoor’s popularity help him win?

A leader who was part of the G-23 group said that if Tewari opts to contest, votes will get divided between him and Tharoor. Both Tharoor and Tewari were members of G-23, the ginger group that sought major party reforms two years ago. While one section of the G-23 sees Shashi Tharoor as a “compromised candidate” because he met with party chief Sonia Gandhi without consulting them, another believes his popularity may win him some votes.

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