Congress president polls | Open to public debate, will evoke people's interest in party, says Shashi Tharoor

Tharoor said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held and will always hold a special place in the hearts of Congress party members.

Set for an electoral face-off with Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge for the AICC chief's post, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on October 2, 2022 said he would be open to the idea of a public debate between the candidates as it would evoke people's interest in the party in a manner similar to the recent British Conservative Party leadership race.

He also said the Nehru-Gandhi family has held and will always hold a special place in the hearts of Congress party members.

In an interview with PTI, Mr. Tharoor said the answer to the Congress' current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organisational reforms.

Mr. Kharge and Mr. Tharoor were left in the fray in the Congress presidential poll after former Jharkhand minister K N Tripathi's nomination was rejected on October 1, 2022.

Talking about what he brings to the table, Mr. Tharoor said, "I have a proven and credible track record in leading at the highest levels of organisations, whether it has been at the UN, where, as the under-secretary general in-charge of the body's public information department, I managed the communications of the UN's largest department comprising of over 800 staff in 77 offices worldwide, rationalised its structure, trimmed its budget and sharpened its efforts — all of which prompted many to urge me to contest to lead the UN Organisation itself.

"Or, more recently for the Congress party, as founder-chairman of the All-India Professionals' Congress, which I had to create from scratch and which in just five years since 2017 has over 10, 000 fellows from across 20 states in the country." In terms of organisational reforms, the former Union minister said, he has outlined a set of priorities which he believes can help strengthen the Congress and take on the machinery of the BJP.

"Since our current situation is widely deplored, it may be an advantage not to be burdened by the baggage of having spent too much time in the present party organisation and be able to approach it from a fresh perspective," the 66-year-old leader said.