Shashi Tharoor: This elections about ‘preserving the idea of India’

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor has said the fight was for “the ideal of India as a secular and democratic nation, and not any one party or individual.”

Speaking to journalists after casting his vote in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Tharoor said the prime aim was to defeat the BJP’s polarising and divisive agenda, which struck at the secular and democratic core of the Constitution.

He said the Congress would heal the divisions and unite the people. It would restore federal consensus and promote a democratic and inclusive culture.

Mr Tharoor said the Congress was the “safest bet” to check the BJP and noted that voters in Thiruvananthapuram had relegated the LDF to third place in the past two Lok Sabha polls.

He squashed rumors that he was rarely in Thiruvananthapuram.

“I initially considered Thiruvananthapuram my area of work. Now, it’s my home. I have no other home or property anywhere. Thiruvananthapuram is my last and final address,” he said.