Battle of performance Vs non-performance: Rajeev Chandrasekhar on his contest with Shashi Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha poll candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday took a dig at senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, his rival in the Thiruvananthapuram seat, saying the contest would be between "politics of performance" and "15 years of non-performance".

Speaking to PTI, Chandrasekhar said he believes that the people of Thiruvananthapuram know well about this, and expressed confidence that it would reflect in the election results.

"Certainly, people are sensible. They know what is the politics of performance, who represents the politics of performance, and who represents 15 years of non-performance," Chandrasekhar said.

Tharoor has been representing Thiruvananthapuram for the past 15 years in the Lok Sabha.

Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology and Jal Shakti, is pitched against Tharoor of Congress-led UDF and Pannian Raveendran of the CPI(M)-led LDF for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.

Refusing to term the electoral battle in Thiruvananthapuram a fight between individuals, he said he believed it is going to reflect the people's choice to help the country continue its 10 years of development into the next five years.

"This is not a fight between Tharoor and NDA. I do not think this is about some personality. I do not think this is about English-speaking skills or whatever," he said, in a taunt at his Congress rival who is renowned for his eloquence.

Reducing the election to a fight between personalities goes against understanding the pulse of the people, he said.

"These elections are about continuing the last 10 years of progress, continuing the last 10 years' trajectory into the next five years," he reiterated.

Accusing the UPA government of "total inactivity" during its term, Chandrasekhar said the country has undergone a huge transformation in the past 10 years under Modi's rule.

He claimed that India was considered the "most fragile economy before 2014", a country that "could not complete any infrastructure project on time or within the stipulated cost before 2014", and "had no growth before 2014", and added that it has now become the fifth-largest economy in the world and is "considered one of the most respected democracies in the world under the Modi government".

"We are moving forward to becoming the third-largest economy in the world, and we have brought governance and a politics of performance to the centre-stage in our country, in every corner of our country, in a way that has never been done before," he said.

Chandrasekhar accused the opposition of lacking vision and said that the opposition means "corrupt politicians coming together with only one single objective of defeating Narendra Modi." He said the people of Thiruvananthapuram know whether he is a familiar face in the constituency and that it would become evident when the results of the elections are out.

"I do not have to say it. You do not have to say it. People certainly know it," Chandrasekhar said.