Shashi Tharoor says he may not contest another Lok Sabha election: 'Think I've done my bit'

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor (File)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been re-elected from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat for the fourth time, said on Friday that he may not contest the election again in 2029.

Speaking to PTI, Tharoor stressed on the need to make way for younger candidates and added that "one must know when to step aside".

When asked if the 2024 Lok Sabha contest was his last, Tharoor said: "Not electoral politics but certainly Lok Sabha. I think I have done my bit and I honestly feel that at some point, we all need to know when to step aside for younger blood to come in and have a crack at it."

He added that if the next Lok Sabha election will be five years down the line, he does not see himself contesting it.

"The Lok Sabha is certainly a very important institution. I have done my very best for my constituents and I will continue doing so but there are ways of serving in public life without necessarily having to do it that way. I think if the election is five years from hence, I don't really see myself at that stage wanting to have another go at the Lok Sabha," the former Union minister told PTI.

Tharoor defeated Union minister and BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar by 16,077 votes to register his fourth straight victory from Thiruvananthapuram. It was his closest contest in the seat ever since he got elected for the first time in 2009.

The Congress leader said that he is focusing on the next five years for now and is determined to do his best for the people he represents during that time.

Asked about the close fight and if the Left made it difficult for him, Tharoor said CPI candidate Pannyan Raveendran took 2.5 lakh votes.

"But the other is the three areas that are represented by the CPM, the CPI candidate came last and the BJP candidate came first. There are some legitimate questions being asked as to how exactly and why exactly that happened. But you know at the end of the day, a victory is a victory and we are savouring it as sweet," Tharoor told PTI.

Tharoor also spoke about BJP candidate Suresh Gopi winning from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, which is the first-ever electoral victory for saffron party in the state.

"I must say Suresh Gopi, whom I know well and he supported me in 2009 is not a typical BJP candidate. He went out of his way to declare his secular credentials, appealed overtly to the minority voters in Thrissur particularly to the Christian community, and had this personal quality of being a celebrity candidate, a well regarded movie star as well as the host of the Malayalam edition of the Kaun Banega Crorepati," Tharoor said.

(With inputs from PTI)