Even though Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor is yet to announce his candidature for the Congress president's post, his colleagues in the party, especially K. Muraleedharan, have said that only the candidate, who has the support of the Nehru family, will get the backing of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
Muraleedharan, son of legendary K.Karunakaran, on Tuesday made it clear that only the candidate of the Nehru family will get the support of the KPCC.
"If it's X or Y, one will know after the 30th of this month," said Muraleedharan.
Muraleedharan is busy taking part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi, which on Tuesday entered the 13th day and will reach the entry point of the Ernakulam district later in the day.
Another of Tharoor's Lok Sabha colleagues, Kodikunnil Suresh also said on Tuesday that it will be the Nehru family's candidate which will get the nod here.
Tharoor on Monday had an hour-long meeting with interim party president Sonia Gandhi, who according to sources in the know of things, has given the nod to Tharoor to contest.
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Though Rahul Gandhi's name is the most preferred from the Kerala party's leadership, he is yet to acknowledge that, even as the voices of support have started to come from other parts of the country also.
Incidentally, Tharoor himself has said that he will bow out if Rahul decides to contest.
Former MP and state party chief Mullapally Ramachandran is another staunch supporter who said that Rahul should take over the party which indicates that he will bat only for Rahul or the Gandhi family's nominee.
With this, it is clear that Tharoor will find the going tough from his home state if he decides to throw in his hat. Now all eyes are on state party president K. Sudhakaran, who is another colleague of Tharoor in the Lok Sabha.
With 10 more days left for the filing of nomination to the top post, and if Rahul Gandhi does not file his papers, then it could see Tharoor filing his papers. If that happens, then the dapper MP has a test on how popular he is in his party.
