'When I stepped down from the (United Nations) secretary general's race, the first visitor I had was a former minister of the Vajpayee government inviting me to the join the BJP.'
'The nation cannot afford a government indifferent to its plight/'
As the curtain falls on the campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday, April 24, a ringside view of the closing ceremonies.
24 hours before campaigning ends in Thiruvanathapuram, Archana Masih/Rediff.com discovers Shashi Tharoor and his BJP rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar are busy getting their message across to voters.
'If people don't see you, they might be hesitant, but once they see you, they are confident that this is the person they will vote for,' says political debutant Shambhavi Choudhury, 25, alumnus of the Lady Sriram College and the Delhi School of Economics.
'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'
'The 2020 assembly election was a Tejaswi Yadav election; whereas this is a Lalu Yadav election. It is his plan.'
>Rohini Acharya, Lalu Yadav's daughter who donated her kidney to her father in December 2022, is on her introductory campaign trail in the constituency that has been represented by her father four times.
'The moment a new election comes, new guarantees are announced.' 'The BJP is adept at diverting people's attention.'
'One is happy. The moment one starts criticising the BJP, ED, IT and CBI comes to one's house.'
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
'Democracy cannot be taken for granted. It has to be fiercely guarded.'
Students and principals at the primary and senior schools Oscar winner Cillian Murphy attended in Cork, Ireland, tells Rediff.com what the triumph means to them.
'Training was incredible and thrilling, be it firing weapons, drill or 10 km runs and push-ups. It gave us unforgettable memories and inculcated soldier like qualities.'
'You are one of the drops that make that ocean, but when you leave it makes no difference to the ocean.'
'His way of communication is different than the first yatra.' 'Maybe his anger and frustration stems from the fact that no one is asking hard questions to the government and he is trying to do that.'
'Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance. If he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message.'
'He should not come to Kerala and fight against the CPI which is an integral part of the INDIA alliance'
'They will continue to keep pricking at places where both of us are sensitive and keep the LAC alive.'
For four decades, his voice united millions of Indians for an hour every Wednesday as he brought Hindi cinema's greatest songs in an unparalleled radio broadcast.
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