Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that rumours of him withdrawing his nomination from the upcoming Congress president election was false, ANI reported. Addressing reporters in Chennai, Tharoor said he was receiving so much support that he would have asked the other candidate to withdraw from the race.
In the election, Tharoor will face Mallikarjun Kharge, who is seen to have the backing of the Gandhis even though they have conveyed that they would remain neutral in the polls.
The Congress presidential election is scheduled to be held on October 17.
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"Rumours that I am going to withdraw (nomination) are false. I am receiving so much support that if I wouldn't have been democratically inclined, I would have asked the other candidate to withdraw," ANI quoted Tharoor as saying while addressing reporters in Chennai.
Tharoor said he would fight for a strong Congress party that could take on the "formidable machine of BJP in 2024".
"This (upcoming election for Congress President) is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest between different approaches," he further said.
Tharoor began his campaign in Nagpur and will visit Mumbai, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Kolkata to canvass support.
Earlier in the day, Tharoor paid floral tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamaraj in Chennai.
The Congress MP said he wanted to change Congress into a party of young India.
"I want Congress to be the party of young India. I want to represent the aspirations, dreams and hopes of young India, just as Rajiv Gandhi attempted to do 40 years ago and succeeded in his initiation of telecom and IT revolution. We too have to now move forward to seize the opportunity available to young India. I am very happy to have the support of the young people," PTI quoted Tharoor as saying.