Rahul Gandhi sees Shashi Tharoor as an asset

Many in the Congress may find Shashi Tharoor a liability, but the Thiruvananthapuram MP is still seen as a possible asset by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Informed sources say the Amethi MP isn’t willing to write off Tharoor, who resigned from the council of ministers over his ‘not-so-discreet’ involvement in the Kochi franchise of the IPL.

In fact, the diplomat-turned-politician could be rehabilitated within the party with an organisational role corresponding with his credentials, though not
immediately.

Tharoor’s ouster from the Cabinet had led to speculation on his longevity in politics, but Rahul Gandhi, it seems, has taken a “lenient” view on the former minister.

Though the Amethi MP is known to have shared the view that Tharoor step down from cabinet and wait for his name to be is cleared from the controversy, he is keen on giving the MP an organisational role. But things won’t be as easy for the suave Tharoor. He will have to sweat it out in active politics before the party finds an opportune moment to grant him that space.

For starters, he will have to reach out to fellow party leaders in the Kerala unit and the Centre, who don’t seem to like him too much. Congress leaders from Kerala view him as an outsider, paradropped into electoral politics due to his proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, prime minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul. AICC leaders concur with this view and are uncomfortable with his tendency to attract trouble. Not surprisingly, the first-time MP has found little support from party leaders each time he landed in a muddle.

Sources close to the Gandhi scion say Tharoor had explained his position over the controversy to Rahul and insisted that he was misled by Lalit Modi. If Tharoor succeeds in winning over party leaders, which is a tough task, he might strike gold within the organisation. His options are a seat in the party’s foreign affairs department or the future challenges committee, of which Rahul is a member.