Shashi Tharoor (Express photo by Partha Paul) Shashi Tharoor (Express photo by Partha Paul)

An online petition has been started in a bid to nominate Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to be the Prime Ministerial candidate of UPA in the run up to 2019 General Elections. “Tharoor is a man well qualified with deep knowledge of international and national issues, who can connect with the people of India and with world leaders,” reads the online petition launched by a Thiruvananthapuram-based user.

“We nominate Dr Shashi Tharoor to be the Prime Ministerial candidate of UPA in the run up to 2019. In best interest of the World’s Largest Democracy and to rejuvenate the opposition,” the user said in his petition, which now has 6,725 supporters.

Tharoor, the two-time parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram, had worked at United Nations for over 30 years in various positions. He had also served as Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. In addition, the 61-year-old internationally known speaker has authored several books, including the latest one Inglorious Empire.

Over the past few months, Tharoor has emerged as the most vocal of all Congress leaders and his popularity is at an all-time high following his book release and subsequent appearances in international shows highlighting how Britain drained India of its wealth.

He was India’s most-followed politician on Twitter until 2013, when he was overtaken by the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He currently has 4.9 million followers on the micro-blogging social media site.

Congress is passing though its worst phase since Independence, recording its lowest performance in the last Lok Sabha polls as its tally plunged from 206 to a mere 44. In the recently-held assembly polls, the grand-old party fared no better as Congress lost power in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and also failed to woo the voters despite forging an alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

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