Strange are the ways of politicians. When Congress Party’s presidential aspirant Shashi Tharoor came to canvas for votes in Telangana, no leader worth the salt met him. Even the TPCC chief skipped the programme. But when the officially-sponsored candidate Mallikarjun Kharge came to Hyderabad, the very same leaders, who absented themselves earlier, were falling head-over-heels to be seen with him.
Kharge has the backing of Sonia-Priyanka-Rahul troika and Shashi has none. This explains why there was so much enthusiasm when Kharge came calling and why there was utter disinterest when Tharoor came. Most leaders chose to be with Sonia Gandhi.
The duplicity of the Congress leaders was so in-the-face that Revanth Reddy told Tharoor that he could not meet him as one of his close relatives died. Tharoor even tweeted this. But, barely minutes later, Revanth Reddy addressed a press conference and spoke with gusto. He rallied forth against the TRS and the BJP and raved and ranted. Many people noted this and wondered how he could skip meeting Tharoor but address a presser almost at the same time.
On Saturday, Kharge came to Hyderabad to seek support. The top brass of the party was there in tow to support him. Many workers wondered how they could ignore Tharoor so mercilessly. This shows that the levers of the Congress party would be with Sonia Gandhi regardless of who becomes the party president.