Shashi Tharoor

Of the 710 voters in the Congress electoral college from Tamil Nadu, a handful attended the meeting convened by Tharoor to seek support for his candidature at the state Congress headquarters, Satyamoorthi Bhavan on Thursday. While Kharge has not yet commenced his journey in Tamil Nadu, it was clear in the response that Tharoor received in the state as to which side the wind was blowing.

"Rumours that I am going to withdraw is false, I will not withdraw," he told the mediapersons. The Congress leader also said that he was drawing huge support from the party leaders and cadres.The former Union minister also said that as he was a democratically inclined person, and he has not asked other candidates to withdraw their candidature.

The moment Tharoor's name surfaced as a likely candidate, those who are aligned to the Gandhi family smelt a rat and then things took a different turn. The highlight is that two Keralites are doing their very best to see that another Keralite does not walk away with the honours, when votes are counted after the October 17 polling day.

"I am expecting support from the ordinary voters and that's the impetus I am getting after my visit to two states and from the calls I am getting," said Shashi Tharoor. He, however, pointed out that some senior leaders like Mohsina Kidwai, Saifuddin Soz and Thampanoor Ravi (Kerala) have pledged their support.

"Let me make clear that I agree with @kharge ji that all of us in @incIndia wish to take on the BJP rather than each other. There is no ideological difference between us. The choice for our voting colleagues Oct17 is only on how to do it most effectively," he said. He was responding to Kharge's statement that debate should be with the BJP, RSS and not amongst the Congressmen.

Shashi Tharoor is seen as a potential candidate from the G-23 group to challenge the loyalists in case of a contest. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also arrived in Delhi on Wednesday and is likely to meet Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi. He is then expected to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi gave her nod shortly after meeting Tharoor and a few other Congress leaders on her return following a medical check-up abroad. Tharoor, who was one of the G-23 members of the party who had demanded sweeping reforms in the Congress, is now likely to throw his hat into the ring for the race to the top party post, voting for which will be held on October 17.

While sources say that G-23 group is gearing up for fielding a candidate and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is the top choice, for loyalists, it is Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor had aired his opinion in a vernacular daily on the need for a contest to the top party post a couple of days ago. As soon as the article went viral, it gave rise to speculation that he might throw his hat into the ring to contest for the top party post. However, Tharoor clarified on Tuesday by saying, "I never said that I will contest, the rest can be discussed later."

However, there was no clarity on the situation while the G-23, which had sought wide-ranging reforms in the Congress party, has been hit by the departure of senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, and others. Tharoor had advocated for contest for the top party post in an article on Monday.