Humbled, grateful to be part of this institution: Tharoor on joining CWC

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Sunday said he was honoured by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the central leadership's decision to nominate him to the working committee and asserted that countless Indians who seek a more inclusive India "deserve the best" from the party.

Kharge on Sunday reconstituted the party's top decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), with 39 members, 32 permanent invitees and 13 special invitees.

Tharoor, who unsuccessfully ran for the post of Congress chief against Kharge in the internal polls last year, has been included in the committee along with the likes of Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, P Chidambaram and Sachin Pilot, among others.

"I am honoured by the decision of the @INCIndia President Shri Mallikarjun @Kharge ji and the Congress central leadership to nominate me to the Working Committee," Tharoor said in a post on X.

"As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled and grateful to be part of this institution, and look forward to the opportunity to serve the party alongside my dedicated colleagues," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said in the post as well as a video message.

He said, "None of us can accomplish anything without the lakhs of committed workers who are the lifeblood of the party. Today, above all, I bow to them. It is their work that keeps the Congress going. The countless Indians who seek a more inclusive and accepting India deserve the best from us." "I will play my part," he added in the video message from Germany's Hamburg, where he is on a visit.

Tharoor had managed 1,072 votes against perceived party establishment favourite Kharge's 7,897 in the presidential election, only the sixth in the party's 137-year-old history.

Tharoor was part of the group of 23 leaders that had raised questions on the Congress' leadership under Sonia Gandhi.