Why have G-23 leaders dumped fellow dissenter Shashi Tharoor?

New Delhi: The remnants of the group of dissenters within the Congress, also known as G-23 or change seekers, appear to have dumped their fellow colleague Shashi Tharoor and extended support to veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge for the October 17 party presidential elections.

Tharoor was among the 23 Congress leaders who wrote a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi in August 2020, seeking internal reforms, including elections from top to bottom, in the organisation.

Tharoor had right from the beginning made known his intentions to fight for the Congress president's post though the G-23 leaders maintained that he had never consulted them before taking the plunge.

Hence, Tharoor’s move had not enthused the dissenters who were otherwise keen to have elections to the top party post. Their response was lukewarm.

In fact, six G-23 members – Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Akhilesh Prasad Singh – were among the proposers of Kharge who is being dubbed as the “unofficial official” candidate in view of the perceived backing of the Gandhi family.

Justifying their decision, Tewari later said the grand old party needs a safe pair of hands and a composed personality to provide stability to the party as its president, and Kharge fits the bill.

“If all the facts are considered and an impartial assessment is done, then Mallikarjun Kharge who has dedicated over 50 years of his life to the service of Congress, in that case, I believe that in this situation, the Congress party needs a safe pair of hands in the form of Kharge. He has a composed personality. Kharge has spent several years and has grown from the lowest posts in the party. Congress needs stability which I feel Kharge can provide,” he said.

Tewari further said that Kharge has risen through the ranks and worked at various levels in the organisation, including the students' wing while Tharoor was a lateral entrant.

“My endorsement of Kharge’s candidature is because he has come up from the grassroots. I do hope he would understand and live up to the aspirations of millions of young NSUI (National Students Union of India), IYC (Indian Youth Congress) and Congress workers who try to make a place for themselves as de-horse godfathers, entitlement or even pedigree. In my opinion, those who have worked in NSUI, Youth Congress, block committees or in districts will have a better grasp of the organisational challenges,” he elaborated.

Kharge’s endorsement by these G-23 leaders indicated that Tharoor was roped in only to have his signature on the letter and presence in the group. Beyond that, they had no connection and did not share any special bond with him.