Kollam (Kerala): The Congress party in Kerala on Friday denied sidelining Shashi Tharoor from the Nilambur byelection campaign, saying the senior MP was officially listed as one of its star campaigners.
Tharoor, a high-profile leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram, caused a stir on polling day when he told reporters he had not been invited to campaign in Nilambur, unlike during past bypolls such as the one in Wayanad.
“I do not go where I am not invited,” he had said, adding that he hoped the party-led UDF candidate would win and that party workers’ efforts would succeed.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Friday pushed back against his comments.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph said Tharoor’s name had been officially included in the party’s list of star campaigners for the election, held on June 19.
“He was abroad due to official commitments during the campaign period,” Joseph said.
“Except for A K Antony, who was unable to travel due to health reasons, all other senior leaders visited Nilambur and joined the campaign,” he told reporters here.
Tharoor had said he assumed he wasn’t needed in Nilambur. “If I was needed there, I would have gone,” he said.
The bypoll was seen as a key test for both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition UDF ahead of the state elections next year.
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Also read: Tharoor admits to ‘difference of opinion’ with Congress, says not asked to campaign in Nilambur