e:diARy-1:shAsHI THirontHoRAthIL!!!

its official..come april-09 and shashi tharoors name will charm the electonic voter machines (EVMs) in trivandrum. i had made a word around 6 months back to my politically inclined frnds that if this gentleman contests from trivandrum (as it was heavily rumoured then), i would be at sasthamangalam lp school, thiruvananthapuram, casting my vote on the D day. And if verything runs as planned, i will be sticking to my word.

Its these kinda intelligent, charishmatic, slick, erudite contestants that we need in a national election. It was indeed stately on Sharoors part to contest for a place in the Indian democratic establishment from his self affirmed proud home land. Given his reach among delhi’s intellectual and political pecking order, he could have guaranteed himself a wild card berth (safe seat or a rajya sabha seat) from anywhere in india.  Still he chose kerala to be his spring board to the lok sabha. May be he believed that every great journey must start from ones roots. his relation with kerala as he himself said runs nothing more than the occational holiday visits and his malayalam speaking parents. But still he prided himself as a chauvinist marunaadan malayalee. Even in his acclaimed non fiction "the elephant,the tiger and the cellphones" he keeps ruminating his kerala love affair with a series of fact loaded essays. He adroitly pronounces kerala as truly what it likes itself to be called “a gods own country”. A land, whose life closely parallels the very idea of India, secular, open, culturally and literally rich..concisely he just cries out that malayalees are a breed apart!!

The fact that the global malayalee previous competitive contest was for the chair of UN secretary general makes him almost an invincible larger than life character. The man who addressed the whos who of the global power list now talking to the sankarankuttys, abdullakuttys, georgekuttys, kochammani’s et al in trivandrum sounds quit lyk a modern day fairytale. He proves that he can be a different politico as he had a reputation of sticking to his spoken words and written scripts. If he said he is proud of kerala, he made it prouder by contesting the election from here.  It can well turn out to be citys date with history, an event with positive repercussions for a great future. 

it is well candidates of this size and character who pulls you from the comforts of your home to the polling stations on the E-days.Common man (I mean women too) should be having concrete reasons to feel committed to be a part of the long lines on an E day. It can be a need for change, a hope that goodness is a vote away or it would be the enticing pull of a magnanimous contestant. The Obama wave had all these ingredients in the bipolar American election scene.  Only a very few leaders have managed to create hysteria of that scale and I do believe in substance Sharoor can do the same to trivandrumites. His weblinks provide what he aims to achieve for trivandrum in detail. All looks promising, that doesnot diffrenciate him from others as everyone bring out their own impropable high points, but it is then the integrity and the scale of the sharoor makes his contention taller than others.

All thw bests Mr. shashi tharoor, voting for me wont just be another right, but, a privilege this time along. Thank you.

P.S. kerala politica without reds would just be like a “fart without a sound”***. its big bro attitude and ruffles with allies notwithstanding, they had come with an egalitarian mix of candidates. its always been in reds DNA to give people a strong and capable list of candidates. Another more notable thing is the no. of new young faces on their list this time. its now not just nandan nilakheni and FMCG marketing board rooms, who are aware of the demographic dividend and the targent lots. best of lucks to all comrades. Let the best win!!!