How Shashi Tharoor won Thiruvananthapuram again

When sitting Congress MP Shashi Tharoor started his election campaign for a fourth Lok Sabha tenure from Thiruvananthapuram, the odds were stacked against him.

Tharoor had rivals in his party’s Kerala unit more than happy to see him lose. The BJP, eyeing its Lok Sabha debut from the state, had fielded Union minister and media baron Rajeev Chandrasekhar against him. The CPI, a major constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), had nominated its former state secretary Pannyan Raveendran, who to his advantage had represented Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha in 2005-09.

Above all, Tharoor was thought to have lost his traditional Catholic vote in the coastal areas due to his support for the Vizhinjam international port during the protests spearheaded by the Latin Church.

Given these challenges, it was a do-or-die battle. Tharoor began his campaign by asking his loyalists (few in number) to set up a war-room and stem the anti-Tharoor tide in the constituency. He identified his adversaries and the reasons for their animosity. Tharoor sorted out issues one by one. He contacted local Congress leaders and sought their help, thanking them for their strong support in 2014 when he was able to win the seat by a narrow margin of just over 15,000 votes against veteran BJP leader O. Rajagopal.

Back in 2014, after his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s controversial suicide, Tharoor had faced stiff resistance within the party at the national and local levels. He could win the Thiruvananthapuram seat only with the support of the Latin Church, his overall vote share being 34.09 per cent. In 2019, Tharoor got 41.19 per cent votes, defeating former BJP state president K. Rajasekharan by over 100,000 votes.

But 2024 was a different ballgame. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on Kerala and his guarantees, voter expectations were running high and Chandrasekhar emerged as a credible alternative to Tharoor. The BJP leader was also seen as a potential minister if his party came to power again at the Centre.

Tharoor slowly picked up his campaign and sought help of the Latin Church. He focused on the rural and coastal areas. He engaged with Muslim leaders to win over the community. “For secular minds and those against the BJP, Tharoor was the only option. So they voted for him,” said a senior Congress leader.

Tharoor’s eventual narrow win by 16,000-odd votes points to the strong challenge thrown by both Chandrasekhar and Raveendran. Chandrasekhar polled 342,078 votes and Raveendran 247,648 votes.

During the counting of votes, as Chandrasekhar’s vote count turned BJP ranks jubilant, Tharoor maintained composure all along. Among the seven assembly constituencies under Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, Parassala, Neyyattinkara, Kovalam and the coastal belt of Thiruvananthapuram gave him the lead.

Tharoor winning Thiruvanathapuram for the fourth time is indeed a feat. Now, various public issues await him in this prestigious seat. With the BJP opening its account in the state, the going may get tougher. Tharoor will have to be cautious to keep his political ambitions flying. He has five years to prove to the people why he was the right choice.

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