Lok Sabha 2024: Shashi Tharoor takes 'Pauline epiphany' jibe as Congress gives ticket to Jaipur Dialogues' Sunil Sharma

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a swipe at his own party on Saturday over the selection of Jaipur Dialogues director Sunil Sharma as a Lok Sabha candidate from Jaipur. 

“He must have undergone some sort of Pauline epiphany on the road to 24 Akbar! This is just one of several dozen tweets from his handle attacking me," the Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted. He attached an earlier post by The Jaipur Dialogues to underscore his point.

"Shashi Tharoor is just Rahul Gandhi with a thesaurus he stole from a library on his way out," the digital platform had had insisted in January 2021.

Congress leader Sunil Sharma was one of several candidates named by the grand old party earlier this week. The party's third list also included five other individuals from Rajasthan. Voting will be held in the western state in two phases on April 19 and April 26. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate for the Jaipur constituency. 

“Our leaders wanted me to contest the elections so the party's high command gave me the responsibility...The current situation in Jaipur is painful...The people of Jaipur want a change…" Sharma had told news agency ANI following the announcement.

According to its social media handles, The Jaipur Dialogues was started in 2016 under Sanjay Dixit which covers a wide range of subjects including politics, governance, national security, foreign policy, economy, education, culture, history, and social issues. Sharma is a parner and director for the platform.

“The Jaipur Dialogues aims to create an environment of intellectual rigour. The Jaipur Dialogues has garnered attention for its efforts to bring forth diverse perspectives and encourage informed discussions on contemporary issues," its YouTube bio explains.