Friday, April 3, 2009

Why Sashi Tharoor? Thiruvananthapuram deserves better

I am amazed at this phenomenon of fielding toothless bureaucrats as candidates for elections. Every party is guilty of this crime. Now Congress wants to field Sashi Tharoor from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. And the Left seems to have already accepted defeat by fielding a little-known CPI leader against him. 
Sashi Tharoor may be a great bureaucrat (though there is nothing much in the history books I can find about him) but that is no reason to foist him on the people of Kerala's capital. What has the gentleman done for the constituency, or for that matter the state, pray?
Surprisingly, a lot of people in the city that I talked to seem to be already falling prey to the Congress propaganda machine, and saying Tharoor is the best candidate and deserves victory. And there seems to be some behind-the-scene deal in the works, going by the way the Left has almost ceded ground. Personally, I hope Neelalohitadasan Nadar, who is contesting on a BSP ticket, wins. That is because, despite all the clouds hanging over him over the Nalini Netto case, this man is a honest politician and effective administrator. And there is no contesting his track record when it comes to what he has done for the constituency. It would be a shame if the people of this city rejects him and chooses an 'import' like Tharoor to represent him. That would be a body blow to the city's reputation as a giant killer, having send of political giants like Krishna Menon into political oblivion.
In many ways the media savvy Tharoor is like Krishna Menon, trying to leverage his clout in the corridors of power in Delhi and certain Western capitals to earn a Lok Sabha seat. And it could well be that the people of the constituency could pay for their mistake, i.e., if they ever decide to hoist Tharoor to victory -- they could see their 'star' MP caring two hoots for them as he negotiates the bylanes of power.
Will that happen? I fervently hope it will not, and I hope Neelan wins!