Shashi Tharoor gets key role in Kerala polls

Congress party's lawmaker Shashi Tharoor will head the party's manifesto department for Kerala's assembly elections. Tharoor is believed to be a hit with youngsters in the southern state.

New Delhi: Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has been made Kerala election manifesto committee head as the party has entered into the poll mode. Tharoor has been entrusted with the responsibility to collect inputs and opinions of people on the basis of which party will draft its manifesto.

The development came after the first meeting of Election and strategy management committee with the arrival of three members of All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers.

Last week, the three observers of AICC including Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, former Goa CM Luizinho Falerio and ex-deputy CM G Parameshvara had a tour in parts of Kerala, attending meetings of the district and block-level leaders, taking inputs on candidates and political strategies.

While speaking to ETV Bharat, Kerala Congress General Secretary Tariq Anwar said, "Shashi Tharoor Ji is a part of the recently constituted committee under the leadership of former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy. This committee has given the responsibility to Shashi Tharoor to visit various places in Kerala to communicate with different communities and sections of people so that a manifesto can be drafted as per their opinion. He will later submit a report to the committee."

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The decision was taken while considering Tharoor's fame among youngsters and his social media outreach. Congress allies have also welcomed the move saying that it would help in getting good feedback, especially from youth, for the manifesto.

During a meeting with the party's central leadership, Congress former President Rahul Gandhi had asked the state unit to field more young and women candidates in the forthcoming polls.

"Our major focus would be upon unemployment and farmers issue while preparing our manifesto. In addition to this, our manifesto will also emphasize women empowerment. We want that they should also be a part of the governance. Growth and development of the downtrodden section of society like Dalits will also be taken care of in our manifesto," stated Anwar.

When asked about the timeline set for the manifesto, the Congress leader said, "In the next 15 days, we will start preparing for our manifesto."