Shashi Tharoor says it’s a direct fight between Congress and BJP in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 10 (PTI) Three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is contesting again from Thiruvananthapuram constituency, said on Wednesday that there is no triangular contest there, as only the BJP poses a challenge with its “energetic” and “professional” poll campaign. The LDF campaign for its candidate Pannian Raveendran has not been very impactful, Tharoor remarked. While acknowledging that the BJP is doing well with the campaign for its candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Congress leader, however, said, “It does not mean that everything they say is the truth.” “On many topics and issues what they (BJP) have said is not the truth. But, if people are willing to listen to that, then we need to campaign against it,” Tharoor said while speaking to reporters here.

On being asked about the coastal community in Thiruvananthapuram and whom they might favour, Tharoor said their votes will not go to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) or the BJP. He said he believes that the coastal community knows that neither the LDF government in its eight-year-long tenure nor the BJP-ruled Centre in the past 10 years has done anything for them.

Neither of them has given any consideration to the coastal community and instead they blame the MP from here, Tharoor said. The Congress leader said that the party’s message is clear — to capture power at the Centre now and in 2026 in Kerala so that the concerns of the coastal community can be addressed. “Our priorities are different from those of the Left. They are not the same,” he said. Polling for the Lok Sabha polls will be held in Kerala on April 26 and votes will be counted nationwide on June 4.