Shashi Tharoor interview: ‘Vijay might yet be invited to join the INDIA bloc. He’s not being excluded’

Shashi Tharoor: The fact is that Congress has such an abundance of talent in Kerala — so many people with the experience, the seniority, the years in politics to be a credible CM contender — that no one can give you a simple answer. What’ll happen, I have no doubt, is that very quickly we will see party headquarters consulting with the elected MLAs — maybe as early as tomorrow. Once they’ve got their feedback, they’ll make a decision with the high command in Delhi. It’ll come pretty quickly.

How long will this take? Two days? A week?

The message is very clear that we don’t want to drag this out in an unseemly way. The intention is to get this done fairly quickly.

Isn’t the problem exactly what you described? That there are so many aspirants.

The party will always have to take various factors into consideration. Whatever they decide; I hope they’ll be able to speak to whoever doesn’t make it in ways that keep them on board. What’s very impressive about Congress in this election is the extent to which party unity was accomplished. Every bypassed aspirant, every MP who wanted to be an MLA — they rallied behind the selected candidate and campaigned for them. It was amazing evidence of party unity, and I hope we’ll see the same unity once the decision on CM is made.

Nobody, including people inside Congress, could predict the enormity of this victory. Why? 

Satheesan would point out that he predicted it — and he’s right. Today’s number is historic, and beyond the expectations of the vast majority of observers. To get to 100 is a miracle. When you give that kind of vote to a party or coalition, what you’re saying is — ‘take the state and change it’.

Apart from Kerala, there are not many positives for Congress in other states. In Tamil Nadu, your party had turned down TVK’s offer for an alliance and now TVK is the single largest party. Isn’t it regrettable?

There’s no shame in having remained a loyal ally to the party you’ve been with for many years. Having said that, once government formation comes up, there may be other possibilities. TVK so far appears to be somewhat short of a majority and will need allies. The INDIA bloc parties are there — Congress has five seats, IUML has two, CPI has two. There are numbers available that could be discussed.

Governments being voted out… Do you see a broader trend? 

The last elections were just after Covid. After Covid, there was a need for reassurance. People wanted stability, not change. Today, that is absent. People have looked at this government’s functioning on its own terms and very clearly found it wanting.

There’s always been a whisper campaign that if the UDF comes to power, it will be at the mercy of vested interests, minority community organisations, all sorts of community pressures.

Look at a situation analogous to the BJP in Delhi, where the central party in the coalition is so overwhelmingly strong that the allies are not in a position to dictate terms. Can any ally dictate terms to the Congress with the numbers Congress has today? You need 71. Congress’s numbers are strong enough that it can carry the day on pretty much any policy initiative it considers important. The implication that we’re going to be held to ransom by anybody doesn’t hold up against the real mathematics.

What about Kerala’s fiscal situation? Will that be the defining challenge?

Getting on top of the fiscal crisis is going to be a major priority. This is a state currently surviving only on liquor excise, remittances, and lotteries. That is no basis to run a government. By September they’re out of money — borrowing to pay salaries and bonuses. There has to be what I call a 1991 moment in Kerala’s economics. We need to identify real sources of revenue generation: bringing in investment, making genuine ease of doing business a reality, transforming how we approach growth. And we must do that in a way that generates jobs, because our young people are fleeing to other states and to the Gulf. Kerala has the highest youth unemployment rate in India after Kashmir. With all the talent, the education, the workforce — we should be absolutely thriving.

What changes do you see for the INDIA bloc after today?

The wind and the sails we have out of Kerala should carry us forward, including towards Punjab. Though BJP can also say they’ve emerged from today with a confidence boost, after Bengal and Assam. And TVK — Vijay might yet be invited to join the INDIA bloc. He’s not being excluded. Today is too early for apocalyptic conclusions. It seems to have been a day from which both the government and the opposition can take heart.