Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP and candidate from Thiruvananthapuram seat in Kerala, said on Friday that “it’s not surprising” that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has “turned out as a strong player” in the Lok Sabha seat.
In an interview with news agency ANI, Tharoor said that in the past two elections, the BJP has emerged as a second party in his opinion. “In the first election that I fought in 2009, I took the seat from the Communist…but thereafter, the BJP has come second.
“It’s not a surprise that they have turned out to be a strong player. The Communist campaign has been lacklustre…whereas, the BJP has moved into the second position in this constituency,” he said.
The Congress MP went on to say that he believes that the “BJP may be ahead of the Communists this time around.”
“It [BJP] is taking this race seriously. Frankly, it is BJP’s strongest seat in Kerala. So if they have any hope at all, it is here… We are also batting with equal vehemence and confidence,” he added.
‘BJP candidate here is facing a real perception’
The BJP ha fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as its Lok Sabha election candidate from Thiruvananthapuram — a stronghold of Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.
Tharoor said the BJP candidate “here [Thiruvananthapuram] is facing a real perception battle because of the affidavit.” He alleged that “the BJP candidate’s affidavit shows that he is a billionaire who is paying less taxes than the taxi drivers”.
“So in Kerala, we pay our taxes, we don’t like to see this kind of things…so he has got a different kind of challenge quite beyond the Hndutva issue and communal baggage,” Tharoor told ANI.
The Congress had earlier moved the Election Commission, complaining that there is a mismatch between the actual assets of Chandrasekhar and those that he has declared in his election affidavit.
According to the affidavit filed along with the nomination papers, Chandrasekhar’s total income shown in the 2022-23 Income Tax return is ₹5,59,200, while it was ₹680 for the year 2021-22.
Presenting what he stated were “facts” on the matter, Chandrasekhar posted on X: “I have ONLY been in public life for several years and my income is derived ONLY from MP/minister salary, perks, and interest/dividend from savings/investments.”
“In the year 2021-2022, my taxable income was sharply reduced because of partnership (in his businesses) losses incurred during the Covid period,” he said.
‘BJP hit the ceiling in Kerala, broke 3 promises’
Tharoor said, “In Kerala, the BJP went in the last 35 years from being a 2-3 percent party to 12-13 percent party. That’s the celing for communal messaging. You can’t grow beyond that with that king of message.” He said this while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Muslim League” remark on the Congress’ manifesto.
The Congress added that the BJP track record in Kerala and Thiruvananthapuram “is very poor”. He said the party made three promises here and broke all of them.
“The BJP promised three things in Kerala — AIIMS, National University of Ayurveda and National University of Disability Studies — but broke all three promises. All we can say is — Modi ki guarantee hai that whatever promises they make in Kerala they will break,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 12 Apr 2024, 04:49 PM IST