"Is This A Friendly Match?" Shashi Tharoor's Jab At Left Over Poll Tactic

Speaking to NDTV this week, Shashi Tharoor said the BJP was welcome to open a bank account in the state, but they should not expect any other kind of account opening.

Shashi Tharoor - looking to win the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat for a fourth consecutive term - has once again questioned the campaign strategy of the Left front, even as he admitted that long-standing variations in political ideologies could mean parties that have allied in one state could be rivals in another, and that this is neither surprising nor a point of concern for the Congress.

Speaking to NDTV after casting his vote, Mr Tharoor acknowledged ideological differences between the Congress and the Left, but said, "When we are fighting an election to change the government in Delhi... this is a national election. The objective is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party."

Mr Tharoor - who earlier too had complained that the Left parties, members of the INDIA bloc, were dividing anti-BJP votes - asked, "How is it then that the entire Left campaign has focused on attacking me and my party... and not said one word against the BJP, its government or candidate?"