India backs Tharoor for UN Secy-Gen post

India has announced Shashi Tharoor, presently UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information...

India has announced Shashi Tharoor, presently UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, as its candidate to succeed Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

If elected, 50-year-old Tharoor will be the first Indian and the second Asian after U Thant of Burma and the youngest to head the world body. 8216;8216;Tharoor is well-qualified and the most deserving candidate, hence he has a fair chance of carrying the day,8217;8217; an optimistic E Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs told The Indian Express. Sources in the MEA see India on a 8216;8216;strong wicket8217;8217; at the UN with Tharoor as candidate.

According to the regional rotation policy, the next secretary-general belongs to Asia. But there are three other Asians in the fray already 8212; South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and seasoned Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala. India, however, feels that given its 8216;8216;clout8217;8217; and 8216;8216;signs of success from the initial lobbying8217;8217; besides Tharoor8217;s stature and experience, it won8217;t be a tough call. 8216;8216;Efforts to seek support for Tharoor are on. We have already got support from the African group,8217;8217; an MEA spokesperson said today.

India is also confident of working out some winning arithmetic. The secretary-general is nominated by the 15-member Security Council and elected by the 191-member General Assembly. Sources say India has a fair chance of winning over the permanent-five nations besides convincing most of the non-permanent countries.

Born in London, and educated in India and the US, Tharoor, the author of eight books has been with the UN in various capacities since 1978. He had won support for his bid from the Government after meetings in April with PM Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and National Security Adviser MK Narayanan. Kofi Annan retires on December 31 this year.