"No alternative to Gandhis in Congress": Shashi Taroor

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jan 25, 2019 : Day after Priyanka Gandhi’s elevation, Shashi Tharoor says no alternative to Gandhis in Congress, Yahoonews reported.

Day after the Congress party officially inducted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has admitted that there is no alternative to the Congress other than the Gandhi family. Speaking during a session at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival on Thursday, Tharoor said that the Gandhi family is foremost in the party and Congress workers accept the party the way it is.

 

When asked what is it that makes all Congress leaders bow before the Gandhi family, he replied, “If tomorrow, there is a free and fair election pitting our present Congress president against anyone you name in the Congress party, I assure you that he will win the election among the Congress workers. In the Congress party if we wish to pursue certain ideals, we accept the party the way it is because indeed in a phrase Modi’s supporters love to say, there is no alternative and in the Congress party there is no alternative.”

Earlier this week, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appointed his sister Priyanka as general secretary of Uttar Pradesh east zone, drawing instant criticism from the BJP and its allies that the Congress is a party only of the Gandhis.

The appointment of Priyanka has given a fresh twist to the contest in Uttar Pradesh where arch rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP have already reached a consensus on fighting the general elections together. The contest in Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, is now triangular.

Priyanaka who is branded as Congress’ trump card for the 2019 election, has now a tough job at her hands given that BJP has a strong presence in the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is a Lok Sabha MP from Varanasi and can influence voters in nearby districts, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holds the key in districts like Gorakhpur and Deoria.

Speaking further, Tharoor said that the upcoming general election will be a battle for India’s soul and that a different idea of India was being advocated by those close to the BJP.