'Had I been in leadership of Congress...': Shashi Tharoor on opposition unity

Shashi Tharoor, in an interview to PTI, said Congress is the axis of any opposition alliance by default but he would prefer not to harp on this.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said if he were in the party leadership, then he would have encouraged smaller parties to take the role of the convener in an opposition alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress is the de facto fulcrum around which other parties converge but he, if in the leadership of the party, would not crow about it, Tharoor said in an interview with PTI. Commenting on the unity of the opposition parties over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi following the conviction in a 2019 defamation case. The opposition parties have found a new reason to come together and the BJP might find it harder to win a majority in 2024, Tharoor said. Read | 'Have to behave like big brother…'? Mehbooba Mufti says 'yes', Cong says…

Shashi Tharoor said if he were in the leadership of the Congress, he would let regional parties to take the centrestage in the opposition alliance in the 2024 election. (PTI)

Terming the opposition unity as surprising and a welcome wave, Tharoor said, "Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage united we stand, divided we fall. If they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a vengeful government."

"Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP," Tharoor said.

"But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact, I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor added.

Tharoor's comments come as several parties including the AAP, Trinamool, Samajwadi Party, Bharath Rashtra Samithi, DMK, Uddhav Sena faction, have supported the Congress in its ongoing protest. However, there has been no discussion on the 2024 elections, the Congress said. Trinamool earlier said the Congress is not the big brother, while BRS chief and Telangana chief minister KCR has been pitching for a non-congress, non-BJP third front.