Shashi Tharoor predicts 2024 polls will be 'exciting', claims BJP will face 'tough time'

General elections in 2024 will be 'exciting,' said senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who predicted that the ruling party would have a 'very tough time' if the Opposition unites around one candidate in each constituency to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said that it would be difficult for the BJP to repeat the pattern of 2019 when it swept or nearly swept multiple states.

When asked if Congress must serve as the fulcrum point of any Opposition alliance, the former Union minister responded, "De facto, it (Congress) is the only party other than the BJP with a national presence, and arguably, we have a stronger national presence in some parts of India than the BJP has, (examples being) my state (Kerala), Tamil Nadu."

"There is no doubt that the Congress is a party with a national footprint, a historical legacy, and a presence almost everywhere, and as such, it must inevitably figure in any calculations of an Opposition front or an Opposition government in due course," Tharoor said.

The main lesson here is that a divided opposition helps the BJP, as we've seen from the last two elections, which the BJP won with 31 per cent and 37 per cent of the vote, he said.

Tharoor highlighted Opposition unity, saying it could take various forms, such as a pre-election alliance or strategically selecting seats so that the strongest Opposition candidate has a clear run against the BJP rival and the final settlement left after an election result.

All of that is outside of my purview, but all I can say is that if the opposition unites around one candidate in each constituency, I think the BJP will have a challenging time in 2024, Tharoor said.

He argued that there had been significant material changes in the country since 2019, citing the example of Bihar, where the BJP's former ally, the JD(U), has joined forces with the Opposition.

The BJP and its former ally won a record number of seats in 2019, and a lot has changed since then (in Bihar). Similarly, there are other states where the BJP won all but one seat or had a clean sweep. I doubt that pattern will repeat itself as easily in 2024, Tharoor explained.

He argued that there would inevitably be some anti-incumbency in the country, and the BJP may well be regretting in 2024 that it achieved so much in 2019 that there were virtually no gains to be made.

"I believe this election will be exciting. I disagree with those who have written off the Opposition's prospects in 2024," he asserted. 

When asked if the AICC presidential elections and the Bharat Jodo Yatra had revitalised the party and put it on the map for 2024, Tharoor said he believed so, recalling that then-Congress president Sonia Gandhi had told him after the AICC presidential polls that elections had strengthened the party.

"We've seen that the public reaction to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, particularly its culmination in Kashmir, was far greater than anyone, whether our critics or our supporters, had anticipated," he added. 

It has not only completely transformed Rahul Gandhi's image and the Congress party's, but it has also given Congress workers new self-belief, which will undoubtedly contribute significantly to revitalising the party for the challenges that lie ahead, Tharoor explained. 

Additionally, the senior Congress leader said that the party's upcoming plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, scheduled for February 24-26, comes at an 'inflection point' in the party's history, as it follows the AICC presidential polls and the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and is held ahead of the 2024 elections.

The session is being held to ratify Mallikarjun Kharge's election as Congress president, and the leaders will meet in Raipur to strategise the party's path to 2024.

(With inputs from PTI)

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