Tharoor alleges different treatment for him, Kharge

Shashi Tharoor, who is running for the Congress president’s post, on Thursday (October 13) said that the Congress state party chiefs had been “unavailable” during his campaign for the internal polls in various states.

Tharoor pointed towards the ways in which the party leaders treat him differently as compared to Kharge.

“I have seen in many places, the PCC (Pradesh Congress Chief), CLP (Congress Legislature Party) leaders and other big leaders welcome Mallikarjun Kharge, sit with him, invite people and tell them to be present. All this happened for one candidate but never for me,” said Tharoor.

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“I visited the state Congress committee and the state chiefs were not available. I am not complaining, but do you not see a difference in treatment?” he added.

Tharoor also alleged that he had received an incomplete list of Congress delegates voting in Monday’s polls. The list did not have any phone numbers for him to contact the delegates. “I am not saying this is deliberate but there were no elections for 22 years, so there have been some lapses,” he said.

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Tharoor said he now depends on the media to help him reach out to Congress voters and to convey his manifesto to them. He said that some leaders have shown bias, there is not a level playing field.

“I know Madhusudan Mistry and his team are trying to hold a free and fair election. I am not complaining against him,” he said.

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The Congress MP had earlier told the media that wherever Kharge goes, there are grandees of the Congress greeting him, garlanding him, but wherever he goes, there are ordinary karyakartas (workers), simple folks who have not received any such instruction.