Not in demand

Former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor is not known to be a star campaigner in Kerala, which went to the polls on April 13. It seems in the poll-bound West Bengal, too, he has few takers. Recently, when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor rushed to meet him and offered his “help” for Mukherjee’s son Avijit, who is contesting from Nalhati Assembly constituency. Tharoor is articulate and fluent in Bengali. But Mukherjee showed little interest in inviting him to campaign for his son. Poll managers for Avijit pointed that Tharoor, who had to resign from Manmohan Singh’s council of ministers because of charges of nepotism, can hardly add any advantage to the campaign.