Ex-UN man feels heat in Kerala poll

Shashi Tharoor stresses his local Kerala roots

By John Mary in Thiruvananthapuram

As the opening of India's election looms, former UN undersecretary-general and poll candidate Shashi Tharoor is sweating it out in the southern state of Kerala.
The Congress party could have nominated Mr Tharoor, 53, author, peacekeeper, refugee worker and human rights activist, to the upper house.
But, he says, he wants to earn his spurs by winning a direct mandate from the people and enter the Lok Sabha (Lower House).
London-born Mr Tharoor made a high-profile, but unsuccessful, bid to become UN secretary-general in 2006 and is a prolific author and columnist.
He is facing a four-cornered contest in Thiruvananthapuram, the state's capital city.
Offering
Mr Tharoor's image makeover for Congress has been from the flamboyant diplomat in a business suit to a white-shirted boy next door.

I am not a newcomer here. I've a house here - my mom lives here Shashi Tharoor

The lightness of dress is a blessing as he sets off on a gruelling campaign from dawn till dusk, sometimes on foot, sometimes in an open van.
On the day I met him, he started off by worshipping at a Shiva temple, offering thulabharam - a ritual in which the devotee is weighed against his preferred religious offering.
Mr Tharoor offered about 70kg of sugarcane jaggery, costing 2,400 rupees ($48).
His car stops by the national highway and he melts into a crowd of children at a Muslim orphanage, asking them about their favourite cricketers.
Mr Tharoor's local aide then ushers him to two nearby churches of different denominations and the statue of Dalit reformer, Ayyankali.
As the motorcade sets off again, a young Congress worker calls from the election van, trumpeting the candidate's accomplishments and urging voters to choose the hand symbol of Congress on the electronic voting machine.

Mr Tharoor has been courting the poorer communities

Some people emerge from their homes in the Nadar community area. A smiling Mr Tharoor delivers an impromptu two-minute speech.
"I am not a newcomer here. I've a house here - my mom lives here. I'll use all my contacts to bring in investments to my constituency. This is a vote for a stable government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."
The crowd is more curious than enthused and there are signs the community is gravitating towards the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Dalit leader Mayawati.
Mr Tharoor stops to pat a child lifted by her mother to garland the candidate.
His Anglicised tone of the local Malayalam language also evokes curiosity.
In a recent TV talk show he said in response to rival taunts: "The election is not a test of my Malayalam proficiency. I can understand what people want. And I am confident of conveying this in parliament in a language that I know quite well."
Mr Tharoor's main rival is lawyer and Communist Party of India candidate P Ramachandran Nair, whose predecessor, Pannian Ravindran, won the seat in the previous election by a margin of 70,000 plus votes.
The BSP's Neelalohitadasan Nadar is popular with the poor community and poses a threat.
Popular
The leftists have been attacking Mr Tharoor, branding his foreign policy positions pro-West and pro-Israel.
"If I enjoyed US support, why did they veto my bid for the top UN post," asks Mr Tharoor?

The Congress machinery may not be a match for the leftists

Critics say a piece he wrote in the Jewish newspaper Haaretz in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks showed an admiration for Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza.
Mr Tharoor says his argument was against India using Israeli-type surgical strikes on Pakistan, a nuclear country.
He also points out his efforts while in the UN to come to the aid of Muslims during ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.
Mr Tharoor is popular among the middle class, women and youth.
His other advantage is the unpopularity of the three-year-old Left Democratic Front government in the state.
But Mr Tharoor has suffered from a Congress party machinery that leaves much to be desired and is no match for that of the leftist parties.
If he does win, there is a strong possibility he will be a federal minister in any Congress government.

READ MORE - Ex-UN man feels heat in Kerala poll

Tharoor says development will be a key agenda in his constituency

Thiruvanthapuram, Mar 20 : Former UN Under Secretary General Shashi Tharoor and Congress party candidate from Thiruvanthapuram in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election has said that his priority will be the development of his constituency.

"I am not looking at anything beyond a victory in the district, the constituency of Thiruvananthapuram that is the focus… for the people of Thiruvananthapuram that’s why I am here," Tharoor said while launching his poll campaign in Thiruvanthapuram on Friday.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor will have to face a tough challenge from the Left Democratic Front candidate Ramachandran Nair, and Bharatiya Janata Party nominee P K Krishnadas.

Tharoor, a prolific writer, who worked with the UN from 1978 to 2007, was the live wire Executive Secretary to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during 1997-98.

Later he became the Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information of the UN, a post from which resigned in February 2007.

In 2006, he had unsuccessfully contested for the post of the UN Secretary General.General Elections will be held from April 16 to May 13, and counting of ballots would take place on May 16.

READ MORE - Tharoor says development will be a key agenda in his constituency

Shashi Tharoor starts poll campaign online

New Delhi, Mar 20 : Shashi Tharoor, former UN under-secretary general and now Congress candidate from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, started his election campaign on Friday through a website.

Through the site, www.shashitharoor.in, the former international bureaucrat lists out his promises, vision and also spells out reasons why he is the best choice for an MP.


"I will work with dedication and sincerity for your well-being. My beliefs and principles will never be for sale. I will never lie to you or intentionally mislead you. You can always count on me to do my best," promises Tharoor.
Late on Thursday, Tharoor was named the Congress candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram seat. His main challenge is from Left Democratic Front candidate Ramachandran Nair, a Communist Party of India (CPI) leader.

Another opponent is Bahujan Samaj Party's Neelalohithadasan Nadar, who as a Congress candidate in 1980 trounced CPI leader M N Govindan Nair.

The website, in both English and Malayalam, also has Tharoor's resume and photos that show him with world leaders like former Cuban President Fidel Castro, late pope John Paul-II, former South African President Nelson Mandela, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former US president Bill Clinton and former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf.

Commenting on his decision to enter political life, Tharoor says: "Politics is an opportunity for public service, not for self-advancement. Government exists to serve the citizen and not the other way around.

"The principles and values I have upheld all my life should not be altered to suit the political convenience of the moment, and my only purpose is to work for the well-being of the people of my country, my state and my constituency."

Tharoor, who faced challenges from a section of Congress workers against his candidature, said Thiruvananthapuram is his favourite place in India.

"Our state (Kerala's) capital offers both well-laid-out city space and a coastal setting of great beauty. Beaches, palm trees, verdant green and gleaming new buildings and malls make for an extraordinary combination that is difficult for other places to match."

"At the same time, one of our challenges in this first decade of the 21st century is to make Thiruvananthapuram a truly global city."


"Kerala should become a knowledge economy. Over 50 percent of India's space scientists are already here. The new Indian Institute of Science Education and Research and the Indian Space Institute are coming up here. We must strengthen this as our USP (unique selling proposition) and attract more such institutions to take advantage of the natural and human resources we offer," says Tharoor, who is also a well known author.
"I will be a tireless advocate for Thiruvananthapuram nationally, internationally, and above all, locally. And I will ensure complete transparency about what I am doing with your mandate. I will publish details regularly of my actions and initiatives, provide full and audited accounts of the expenditure of MPLADS (MP Local Area Development Scheme," Tharoor promises his voters.

READ MORE - Shashi Tharoor starts poll campaign online

Tharoor gets Congress ticket, calls it a ‘challenge’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Mar 20 - Former UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor was Thursday named the Congress candidate for the key Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, and he said he would ‘take this as a challenge’.

‘First of all, I take this as a challenge and now since there are only four weeks left, I have to work hard. I will be meeting as many people as possible,’ Tharoor told a TV channel here soon after the Congress released its list of candidates for the state in New Delhi.

One of the politicians Tharoor is pitted against is Ramachandran Nair, the current Thiruvananthapuram district secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the candidate of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Another formidable opponent is Neelalohithadasan Nadar, who as a Congress candidate in 1980 trounced CPI leader M.N. Govindan Nair. Nadar this time is contesting as the candidate of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to name its candidate.

Tharoor earlier Thursday visited Congress leader K. Karunakaran and sought his support and blessings. He is set to formally launch his campaign at the district party headquarters here Friday.

Tharoor began his career in 1978 when he joined the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. He has authored five non-fiction books as well as works like the ‘The Great Indian Novel’.

Tharoor was among the 16 candidates the Congress named Thursday from Kerala. The candidate for Vadakara seat would be announced later. The party is not contesting from three constituencies in the state.

READ MORE - Tharoor gets Congress ticket, calls it a ‘challenge’