THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Confirming a contest for the AICC presidential election, senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday got the nomination form for polls collected from the party headquarters in New Delhi. Tharoor’s aide Aalim Javeri collected the form from the office of Madhusudan Mistry, chairman of the Central Election Committee of the party.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, who has the backing of the Gandhi family to contest the election, is slated to submit papers early next week. It is reliably learnt that Tharoor is planning to file his papers on the last day, which is falling on Friday. Javeri has picked up five sets of nomination papers.
Tharoor who was the first leader to make his intention clear to contest the polls has become the “early bird” to collect the nomination papers. A source close to Tharoor told this newspaper that he has hired a professional agency who would be writing to all the Congress legislative party leaders expressing his intention to see the 9200 delegates spread across the country.
“It may not be possible to see all the 9,200 delegates. But he will ensure that he seeks the support of all the voters. Even though it is a secret ballot, all eyes are on how many votes Tharoor would garner from his home State, Kerala,” a source said. Tharoor may get support from a section of KPCC leaders.