Shashi Tharoor vs Rajeev Chandrasekhar confirmed from Thiruvananthapuram as Cong releases 1st list
With no Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, the BJP will rely significantly on Chandrasekhar in the state for its inaugural presence.
The Congress on Friday released its first list of 39 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The list included prominent leaders such as Rahul Gandhi vying for the LS seat in Wayanad, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel contesting from Rajnandgaon, and Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram.
Shashi Tharoor vs. Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will contest against BJP's Rajeev Chandrashekhar in Thiruvananthapuram. With no Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, the BJP will rely significantly on Chandrasekhar in the state for its inaugural presence. Meanwhile, securing victory on his home turf is pivotal for Tharoor, particularly as it could shape his trajectory in electoral politics moving forward.
Speaking about his upcoming Lok Sabha battle Shashi Tharoor said, "The BJP is going to find it very tough to even repeat the 303 they had. I'm convinced at this time the BJP is going to lose the government. In every election, there's always been somebody leaving some party and going to some other party… I don't see that BJP is immune from that either… Those of us in the Congress party for the last few years have seen opportunities to serve the people and that's why we are in politics. That's what I'm doing in Thiruvananthapuram. I'm here to serve the people of my constituency."
Meanwhile speaking about contesting the Lok Sabha seat from Thiruvananthapuram in the upcoming polls, union minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “I am very excited and honoured. This is the first opportunity I have got to contest in the Lok Sabha. I express gratitude to PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda who have chosen to field me as their candidate in the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram... It's a campaign I look forward to and I will start it very shortly...The people of Thiruvananthapuram are more powerful and they will decide who they want to see victorious. BJP will have a decisive mandate in the coming elections…”
Tharoor earlier termed the LS polls as a three-cornered contest. "Don't forget that I took the seat from the Communist Party and the gentleman who is the candidate now, was the sitting MP when I came into the fray. He did not contest again at that time and it has now been 15 years that he is out of the fray. So it remains to be seen how Mr Pannyan Raveendran (CPM candidate in 2024) does...BJP has come second in the last two Lok Sabha elections. So, they have to be taken seriously," Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said.
What happened in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections?
During the 2019 elections, Tharoor won more than four lakh votes, establishing a significant lead over the BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan, who received around 3.16 lakh votes.
The constituency's intense political contest drew nationwide attention, with analysts forecasting that the Sabarimala women's entry issue would influence the outcome in favour of the BJP, which had nominated Kummanam Rajashekharan to contest against the author-turned-politician. Rajashekharan had also resigned as Mizoram Governor to take the electoral plunge. However, Tharoor defeated his main rival and BJP-NDA candidate Kummanam Rajashekharan by a margin of 99,989 votes.
