Telangana Congress unit snubs Tharoor; bats for Kharge

The Gandhi family assured Kerala Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that they have not endorsed any candidate in the upcoming party’s presidential poll but the situation on the ground is different. The reality, it seems, is completely at variance with what Tharoor was told by the Congress leadership, as he learnt during his recent Hyderabad visit.

When asked by reporters, at Hyderabad airport on Monday (October 3), whether his opponent Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress presidential post race had the backing of the Gandhis, Tharoor reiterated that he was assured by the Congress President that the party is not officially backing any candidate.

Yet, a disgruntled Tharoor, who was in Hyderabad to campaign for his candidature and seek support from the Telangana Congress delegates, left the city in disgust. No Congress leader had turned up either at the airport or at the Taj Krishna where Tharoor was staying to receive him. The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) was clearly giving him the cold-shoulder, it seems.

No cooperation from Telangana PCC

The Telangana PCC has 398 delegates, who will be voting in the Congress presidential elections, to be held on October 17. However, Tharoor’s attempts to reach out to Telangana PCC delegates were frustrated by the complete lack of cooperation from the state PCC and the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The Congress MP from Kerala was unable to visit the Gandhi Bhavan, the official headquarters of the Congress party in the state and neither was he able to meet the Telangana PCC president Revanth Reddy.

Some youth mobilised by a few of his friends received him at the Hyderabad airport with Congress flags and slogans. No important leader was spotted in the small welcoming committee at the airport. Since he was not able to meet the PCC delegates in Hyderabad, Tharoor spoke to the individual delegates over phone.

Also read: Shashi Tharoor: From distinguished UN career to being outspoken politician

Finally, Tharoor left the city after just holding a press conference at hotel Taj Krishna.

Inquiries by The Federal revealed that he was not even provided a list of the PCC delegates by the AICC election office. He confided this to a friend a day before his arrival and lamented that except for the Kerala PCC delegates’ voter list, he did not receive the list of PCC delegates of any state in the country.

Tharoor’s friend told The Federal that there was no circular or communication from the central election office to the PCCs asking them to provide a platform for the campaign. “He really did not expect any cooperation from the Telangana PCC, and PCC president A Revanth Reddy too was not available to meet him. So, he had to make do with a press conference,” he said.

Shashi Tharoor’s cryptic tweet indicated that Revanth Reddy was not available for a meeting since one of his relatives had passed away. “My sincere condolences to my colleague @revanthanumula on the sudden loss of a close relative. We will meet another time but I convey my best wishes to him and his team @INCTelangana,” tweeted Tharoor.

But local TVs ran a story that there was no mourning at Reddy’s Hyderabad residence. Instead, he was busy admitting leaders of other parties into Congress and even addressed a press conference in Gandhi Bhavan in the afternoon.

Also read: Congress president poll: Shashi Tharoor first to officially enter fray

Meanwhile, TPCC president Revanth Reddy told reporters, “As far as my knowledge, there was no official information regarding the visit of Mr Tharoor to our protocol department. I had information that he was coming here to attend a programme. I invited him for tea in the morning. However, I could not meet him as one of my relatives passed away, and I have to attend that. I will meet him in New Delhi at a later date.”

“The meeting over a cup of tea at my residence could not take place due to some unavoidable circumstances,” Revanth told the media. Revanth, however, was all praise for Kharge as “Hyderabad bidda”, as he hails from Bidar in Karnataka, which was once part of erstwhile Hyderabad state.

Persona non grata

Another senior leader, on condition of anonymity, said that Shashi Tharoor did try to come to Gandhi Bhavan for interaction with Congress leaders.  But, PCC president Revanth Reddy invited Tharoor to his house for a cup of tea, which was turned down by Tharoor, who insisted that Gandhi Bhavan was an ideal place for a meeting.

“It is a clear indication that Shashi Tharoor has become persona non grata for the Telangana Congress,” the leader observed.

Marri Shasidhar Reddy, a former minister, said had he been the PCC president, he would have provided Tharoor an opportunity to campaign at Gandhi Bhavan. Reddy said, “The presidential election is being held to demonstrate to the world that Congress respects internal democracy. By not providing a forum to a candidate, what is the message we are sending out.”

Also read: Congress sends a stern message after party spokesperson taunts Shashi Tharoor

Stating that the Congress had a history of holding organisational elections with a democratic spirit, Reddy recalled an election held way back in the early 1950s for the Hyderabad Congress committee when the official nominee of the Congress was defeated by rebels’ candidate JV Narsingarao.

“The then Chief Minister Burgula Ramakrishna Rao fielded a candidate as the official nominee. Marri Chenna Reddy had fielded JV Narasingarao as another candidate. JV won the election. However, this did not disturb the cordiality among members in the party,” he pointed out.

Telangana PCC favours Kharge

Former PCC president V Hanumantha Rao said nobody was aware of Tharoor’s visit. “On October 7, Kharge is coming to Hyderabad. He has sent his programme to all of us. On October 8, he is meeting PCC delegates,” Rao said, adding that ‘Tharoor did not care to inform us’. Hanumantha Rao batted for Kharge as the right candidate to lead the party.

“Kharge is an organisational man and a representative of the downtrodden. He led the party not only in Karnataka but also in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Party workers feel at home in his presence. He is the right choice as president,” Rao said.

Another former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah also acknowledged that he did not get any communication about Tharoor’s visit. “There is no ill-will against Tharoor as he is also a two-term MP and a former minister,” said Lakshmaiah and added that Kharge, with his political background and his ability to connect with party workers, is clearly a favourite among the members of the Telangana Congress.

D Niranjan, TPCC vice-president felt Tharoor should have visited Gandhi Bhavan. He does not require prior permission to visit the place. “Since the election is notified, the PCC won’t extend the protocol to any candidate. If one wants to visit the party office on his own, certain arrangements may have been made. Tharoor had not kept the Gandhi Bhavan informed about his visit,” added Niranjan.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor may want to be ‘the voice’ of the workers of his political party but they don’t seem to reciprocate his feelings.