Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the star campaigner for not only the party in Kerala but also its United Democratic Front allies.

While the four-term Thiruvananthapuram MP is campaigning in almost all the 140 Assembly constituencies for the April 9 polls, sources said Tharoor could be eyeing the Congress deputy leader’s role in the Lok Sabha.

The post is currently held by Gaurav Gogoi, the Jorhat MP who is contesting the Assam Assembly polls. Gogoi is also the Assam Congress chief and is the only sitting MP allowed to contest the Assembly polls in that state.

The sources said Tharoor had been given an assurance on the House deputy leader’s post during a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of the Lok Sabha Opposition Rahul Gandhi during the first leg of the budget session in Parliament in January-end.

According to the sources, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had urged Tharoor to focus on campaigning in his home state. Till recently, Tharoor had had several run-ins with the leadership and had not been involved in the day-to-day functioning of the party.

During his campaign interactions with voters, Tharoor has been speaking about plans for a “new Kerala”. He is urging voters to bring about a change in government as the Left has been in power for a decade.

Tharoor enjoys much respect and adulation in the northern districts in the Malabar region although he is an MP from the southern district of Thiruvananthapuram. This time too, there is a rush among youths and women to take selfies with him.

During one such campaign rally, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and MLA P.K. Kunhalikutty was all praise for Tharoor’s “chaste Malayalam”, gladdening the Congress leader.

Tharoor has also been drawing attention to the war in West Asia.

“The Iran war has severely affected Malayalis in the Gulf, and the usual practice of these organisations chartering flights to bring Keralites to vote is no longer feasible. Extortionate price-gouging by Indian airlines to and from the Gulf also came in for severe criticism. Jobs and futures are in peril and anxiety has been expressed about opportunities for returnees, and tax notices to overstayers,” Tharoor said during an interaction with organisations working for the welfare of non-resident Keralites.

Tharoor, who had been inundated with requests from all UDF candidates to campaign for them, began his canvassing from Thiruvananthapuram and has crisscrossed the state. A Congress MP close to Tharoor told this newspaper that his concerns over being sidelined in the party in Kerala had been taken up before Rahul and Kharge.

“They promised Tharoor that his concerns would definitely be addressed. He always rued that his expertise in foreign affairs had not been adequately utilised by the party. Tharoor has got the gift of the gab and can tear into the BJP in the Lok Sabha. He might have courted controversy on earlier occasions by commenting favourably on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Tharoor is known to call a spade a spade and does not beat around the bush,” the Congress MP said.