Shashi Tharoor, India’s candidate for the top UN job hinted at possible US support for him, though he did not say it in so many words.
NEW DELHI: Referring to himself as “the national offering to the world,” Shashi Tharoor, India’s candidate for the top UN job hinted at possible US support for him, though he did not say it in so many words.
Asked if Washington was backing him to replace Kofi Annan, Tharoor said, “It is not for me to articulate the position of other countries. It is for them to articulate when they are ready. We would obviously not be in the race, if we were not sure of reasonable support,” he explained.
Tharoor was speaking to reporters after his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 7, Race Course. Saying he had a very pleasant and cordial meeting with the Prime Minister, he said they discussed the “way forward” for India’s campaign at the UN. He thanked Singh for the confidence the government had placed on him.
Asked if he was confident of stepping into his bosses shoes, Tharoor said, “No race is guaranteed. There are other candidates and I welcome the broadest choice available to the Security Council and then finally to members states of the General Assembly.”
India went into the fray after ensuring that Tharoor’s name would not be vetoed by the five permanent members: US, China, Russsia, Britain and France. However analysts here believe that Delhi would not have taken the plunge without getting some indication of Washington’s support.
Tharoor had a busy Monday in the capital as he is tried to garner political consensus from the broadest possible spectrum for the contest. He met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and defence minister Pranab Mukherjee. He also spoke to the CPM duo Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury.
He also stopped over to chat with national security advisor MK Narayanan. On Tuesday he will meet Opposition leader L K Advani and his BJP party colleague Jaswant Singh.
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