At a time when the Congress is actively considering his name for the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, senior leader Shashi Tharoor says he would be happy to take up any responsibility that the party gives him.
In an interview with Express Chief of Bureau Anil S, the three-time Thiruvananthapuram MP says completing mega infrastructure projects in a time-bound manner and taking up welfare initiatives for the marginalised sections would figure among his key priorities.
Q. It was a tough three-cornered fight in Thiruvananthapuram Constituency this time. How do you assess the factors that favoured you?
A: I certainly faced a stiff three-cornered contest in Thiruvananathapuram, particularly from a well-organised, highly-motivated and well-financed campaign from the BJP. But at no point was I unduly fazed, for a number of reasons. For one, I was campaigning on the basis of the strong development record I had successfully established in Thiruvananthapuram during my last two terms and I was confident that based on this, the voters would continue to repose their faith in my ability to serve them well. At the same time, I was also certain that the voters would recognise and appreciate the effective manner in which I had raised their concerns and aspirations in Parliament and in the highest levels of the government.
At the same time, a factor that went against the BJP was that their strategy of purely focusing on a visceral communal campaign backfired and hit a ceiling in cosmopolitan Kerala. Their claim to stand for the right of the aggrieved believers of the Sabarimala shrine, found no takers because the voter rightly recognised that the BJP had done very little by way of finding a solution (such as a legislative way forward or an ordinance) to ease the distress of the devotees, when they could have easily done so using their majority in Parliament. Their polarising rhetoric also alienated minority communities in the constituency, resulting in these communities consolidating their votes against the BJP.
And ultimately, after the Congress put up a spirited, effective and well- coordinated campaign, the voters rewarded us with a margin of victory that was just seven votes less than the overwhelming majority I had secured in my first campaign.
Q. How do you view the role played by Sabarimala issue in the elections?
A: It certainly was an important issue and in large part because the believers had a legitimate reason to be aggrieved--- not just because of the Supreme Court decision itself (which is under review, though the BJP-led central government did not submit a review petition itself) but also because of the manner in which both the BJP and the Left were misleading the people and were desecrating a sacred place of worship by converting it into a staging ground for unseemly political theatre. But in doing so, both sides made the callous assumption that the voter would not recognise the hypocrisy in their respective positions and ultimately these believers overwhelmingly supported the Congress and its allies resulting in the wave that saw the UDF secure 19 out of 20 seats in the state.
Q: Which are the key areas of development/welfare that you would focus now?
A: There are a number of key development projects that I will focus on in my third term, which I have broadly outlined in my election manifesto. These range from ensuring that ongoing mega infrastructure and connectivity projects such as the NH Bypass and the Vizhinjam seaport are completed in a timebound manner as well as other welfare schemes such developing a strong and sustainable drinking water plan for the city and a solid waste disposal system. At the same time, there are also community specific welfare initiatives that I will take up, including for our fisher-folks who remain one of the most marginalised and economically challenged sections of our society.
Q: You mentioned about the communal campaign by the BJP. Your take on the widespread rumours that the BJP would open its account by winning the Thiruvananthapuram Constituency this time, backed by such a campaign.
A: As I said, at no point was I particularly fazed by such rumours because I was confident that the work that I had done for the people of Thiruvananthapuram over the last 10 years would ultimately see me through. The rumours cited opinion polls based on a ridiculously small and unrepresentative sample of voters, so I never believed them. But some may have actually helped galvanise support for me by raising the fear that a BJP win was imminent.
Q: It was a resounding victory for the UDF in Kerala this time. However the UPA and the Congress performed dismally at the national level. What are the reasons that led to such an ignominious defeat?
A: I think the results make it clear that there certainly seem to be some fundamental issues that we got wrong. It will undoubtedly take us some very strong introspection and a comprehensive assessment to correctly identify exactly what these issues were.
For example, we were (not unreasonably) convinced that grave economic concerns - such as unemployment levels hitting a 45 year high, or the significant agrarian distress that is forcing our farmers to contemplate suicide in record numbers, or even the disastrous impact of other measures like demonetisation on the fate of our small, medium and micro enterprises - would play a pivotal role in deciding the fate of the election. After all, there is a well-recognised wisdom in believing that voters would cast their votes according to their economic self-interest. But this time the Indian voter did not do that, and we need to understand why.
One reason is perhaps the other side executed the crucial messaging better. They decided early that their 'product' was Mr Modi and they marketed him very well. They built up the most extraordinary personality cult in modern Indian political history, buttressed by larger-than-life imagery, hundreds of thousands of social media warriors, an intimidated 'mainstream' media, ubiquitous cameramen and a slick publicity machinery that was switched on 24/7, all lubricated by 5600 crore rupees of taxpayer funds relentlessly promoting his every move. They also had great success in marketing and creating a hype around many of their flagship schemes. They pointed to gas cylinders, toilets and homes as proof of the government delivering, even though 65% of the toilets have no running water and 90% of the gas beneficiaries cannot afford to refill their cylinders. Perhaps we could have done better to make the reality of the flawed delivery of such schemes more apparent.
Another issue perhaps is that we may have underestimated the impact of national security as an electoral topic (in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and Balakot strike) on the psyche of the voter. This is perhaps more true in the North than in South, where I can tell you based on my personal experience that this issue did not gain much traction, whereas in the former, the BJP had great success in trying to convert the election into a ‘khaki’ referendum.
Another area where we could have done better is perhaps if we had released our party manifesto earlier and consequently given ourselves more time to market ideas like NYAY which by design and in terms of impact was nothing short of revolutionary. It appears that the core messaging around NYAY may have only reached around half the electorate and perhaps even the wrong half—mainly centred in urban areas and among professional classes, who would be paying for the scheme, rather than the bottom 20%, mainly in rural India, who would become beneficiaries of it. Had the NYAY idea been unrolled even six months earlier, it might have won over many voters.
Now all of this is based on 20-20 hindsight. But we really do need a comprehensive and systematic assessment of where and what we got wrong.
Q: Do you think the 'Nyay' scheme - one of the major electoral promises by the Congress - failed to connect with the masses?
A: As I mentioned previously, I do think we could have given ourselves more time to have marketed NYAY. For a policy measure that in terms of scale and design was nothing short of revolutionary, having more time to get the idea of the scheme out to the masses of the country, particularly its potential beneficiaries, would have been beneficial for the Party.
Q: Post defeat, the Congress president has offered to step down, taking responsibility of the defeat. What's your take on that?
A: I do think his offer stems from the fact that he has taken this setback on the chin but at the same time I believe he has far more to contribute to the party , particularly in these challenging times. With regard to the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, I am convinced that during the last campaign, he has led the party the front and with energy, conviction and commitment. Each day he was in a different part of the country, reaching out to all communities in the process and addressing more rallies than even Narendra Modi. The attempts being made in the media to pin all the blame for our electoral setback on his shoulders are simplistic and unfair and trivialise the issues we have to confront about the elections of 2019. I think it does a disservice to the very complex challenges facing the Congress Party to reduce it to a question of one person. While Rahul Gandhi has bravely taken full responsibility for the defeat, we all are responsible for what went wrong and we all have a responsibility to ensure the party’s revival.
Q: Your name is actively doing the rounds for Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha.
A: Such decisions are the prerogative of the party and it seems to me that it would be best if Rahul Gandhi took on this role himself. While I do believe that those of us who remain in Parliament will have to step up and take an additional share of responsibilities on behalf of our fallen stalwarts, it is up to the Party to decide what these should be. And as always, I remain happy to take up any responsibilities that the party asks me to do, and fulfill them to the best of my capabilities.