Congress Election: Tharoor Wants A Sunak Vs Truss-Type Public Debate With Kharge

New Delhi: Many in India followed the British Conservative Party leadership race between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss recently. Especially the open debates between the candidates on television.

If Congress president election candidate Shashi Tharoor had his way, he won’t mind a public debate with his challenger Mallikarjun Kharge.

Such a public debate will help Congress members get a sense of the vision and plans of these leaders before they decide whom to vote for on October 17.

“There are no ideological differences among us; rather, it is a question of how we propose to go about achieving the objectives we already agree upon,” Tharoor was quoted as saying by PTI.

The MP from Thiruvananthapuram said it would be practically and logistically difficult to reach out to all the 9,000-odd delegates who are eligible to vote in these elections given that there are just two-and-a-half weeks between last date for submission of nominations and date for polls.

“In that sense, a platform where candidates can exchange their ideas and vision for the party in a constructive manner would potentially facilitate the transmission of these perspectives to more of the delegates than we can reach,” Tharoor said.

Such an exchange of ideas will generate much interest among non-voting sections as well, be it other Congress workers, the media and even the general Indian public, Tharoor added.

Kharge, who ‘officially’ started his election campaign on Sunday, said he had told Tharoor that it’s much better to have a consensus candidate for the president’s post.

Obviously, Tharoor wasn’t convinced.

“The day I filed my nomination, I submitted resignation from my post (Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha), aligning with the ‘One Person One Post’ decision of the party taken in Udaipur. I officially begin my campaign for the post of Congress party president today,” Kharge said at a press conference.