"What matters now is revival of Kerala": Shashi Tharoor as early trends show significant Congress lead
Thiruvananthapuram, May 4
As early trends show the Congress leading across more than 50 seats in Kerala, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that the need of the hour is a change of government, a change of policy and a "revival of Kerala".
Expressing confidence in the party, and the United Democratic Alliance (UDF) performing well in the 140-member assembly, Tharoor told ANI, "I think right now we've got enough contenders. What matters now is that there should be a change of government, a change of policy and a revival of Kerala."
Decrying the fiscal situation in the state, he said that he wants to work for making a state into a "haven for investment" for generating jobs and stopping migration from the state.
"I hope that I can count on my ideas also being of some use to the new government, but my message will certainly be development, completely changing the disastrous fiscal situation, really doing essential work to make Kerala once again a haven for investment, so that we can grow, generate jobs for our people and prevent a situation where our young people are fleeing the state because they feel they have no possibilities," he said.
According to data by Election Commission of India, Congress alone is leading in 49 seats till now, while the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist) is leading in just 29 seats. As the second round of vote counting continues across 140 constituencies, multiple party candidates have registered a margin of more than 1,000 votes. Party's Irikkur candidat Sajeev Joseph is leading in his constituency by more than 5,000 votes.
Meanwhile, CPM candidates from Payyannur, Kalliasseri, are ahead by more than 5,000 votes, while Thalassery and Chelakkara are seeing CPM lead by more than 6,000 votes.
In Kerala, the UDF as a whole has gained a significant advantage over LDF, leading in over 70 seats with the alliance leader Congress gaining leads on 49 seats.
The process begins with postal ballots, followed by the counting of Electronic Voting Machines from 8:30 am, with round-wise results being updated in real time on the ECINET platform and the Election Commission's official portal.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I'm cautiously optimistic. Tharoor talks a good game about investment and jobs, but we've seen Congress governments before that didn't change much. The real question is: can they actually revive the economy without cutting welfare? The state's debt is sky-high. Let's see concrete plans, not just speeches.
As a Malayali who moved to Bangalore for work, I can't stress enough how true his point about migration is. Most of my friends from college are either in tech hubs abroad or outside Kerala. The state has so much potential – good infrastructure, educated people, but the job market is pathetic. Time for real change! 🏡✨
All this talk about 'haven for investment' sounds good, but I hope it doesn't mean selling off public sector enterprises and land to big corporates. Kerala's model of social welfare and education is something we should be proud of. We need a balanced approach – jobs without sacrificing the state's progressive identity. Also, CPM losing is not a surprise; they were too arrogant.
It's ironic that Tharoor talks about 'revival' when his own party has been in power at the centre for so long and didn't do much for Kerala's economy. But I'm glad LDF is out – the infighting and corruption scandals were too much. Let the UDF try, but they better focus on infrastructure and tourism, not just photo ops. 🤞
Matha, what a relief! The last five years were a disaster for small businesses like mine. Licenses took forever
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