Should Congress president be from Hindi belt? See Shashi Tharoor's reply

Should the next Congress president be necessarily from the Hindi-speaking states?

Senior leader Shashi Tharoor, who is speculated to run for the post of Congress president, was asked this tricky question at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.

The question was in Malayalam. Tharoor started off by replying in Malayalam, "An Indian from any part of the country is an Indian..." And then abruptly switched to Hindi. "See, these days if you have to be in politics, you need to speak Hindi. People from the South are able to speak Hindi. I too can do it. But if people so desire that the candidate should be from a Hindi-speaking state, they can vote for that. I only desire that there should be an election to the post," Tharoor said.


Of course, he didn't yet reveal his cards yet on whether he would contest. But many would conclude that the media-savvy Tharoor was playing to the cameras, and dropping a big hint.

See the video report uploaded on YouTube by Manorama TV.

Ever since the Congress party announced dates for its president poll, Tharoor has been vociferously demanding that there should be "several candidates".

Tharoor has been saying that a good contest would "increase national interest" in the Congress and galvanise more voters for the party.

Tharoor, who is a member of the G-23 ginger group demanding structural reforms in the party, has not clearly indicated whether he himself would contest.

Reports quoting sources said the Thiruvananthapuram MP was seriously considering the option, but Tharoor called them mere 'speculation'.

ET has reported that he is being increasingly talked about as a potential candidate to force a contest for the Congress president's post.

Elections for the Congress party's full-time president will be held on October 17, and the notification for that will be issued on September 22. Filing of nominations will begin on September 24.