Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: Shashi Tharoor opts out of Gujarat campaign for THIS reason

New Delhi: Kerala Congress MP Shashi Tharoor will not campaign for his party in the upcoming assembly elections as he was not included in the Congress party’s list of star campaigners, said reports on Wednesday. It has been reported that the Kerala Congress MP is miffed over not being included in the party’s star campaigners list for Gujarat. It has emerged that Tharoor was invited by the Congress' student body to campaign in Gujarat, but he decided to opt out of it.

The Shashi Tharoor camp says that he has been sidelined in the party ever since he contested the party presidential polls against Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge. However, Congress party has denied sidelining Tharoor.

It may be noted that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the 40 star campaigners the party announced for the Gujarat assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, has not campaigned so far in the poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, the chief ministers of Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, are also among the star campaigners for the December 1 and 5 polls in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress is seeking to oust the BJP from power in the state and had put up a good fight in 2017 assembly elections. The BJP has been in power in the state for over 27 years now. Among the other star campaigners listed by the party are AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, CLP leader in Kerala Ramesh Chennithala, former chief ministers Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Chavan.

Besides, AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar, CLP leader in Karnataka assembly B K Hariprasad, senior party leaders Mohan Prakash, Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC in-charge for party affairs in Gujarat Raghu Sharma are also listed by the Congress as its star campaigners.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and local Gukarat Congress leaders Jagdish Thakor, Sukhram Rathva, Bharatsinh Solanki, Arjun Mothvadia and Jignesh Mevani will also campaign for the party as star campaigners.

Party's Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi and former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar are also among the star campaigners besides Pawan Khera and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

Expenditure on electioneering by a star campaigner is not added to the candidate's poll expenses, giving him or her more room to campaign. According to election laws, these expenses are borne by their parties.

(With Agency Inputs)