As a Congress candidate, he has embraced his party's policy and his writings should be of no consequence in the future.
On some occasions, Tharoor's admiration for the artist M F Husain too haunts him in his rallies. Here, the brush that paints him as being insensitive is held by the Hindus, while in the case of Israel, it is Muslim ire that is being provoked.
Tharoor has made no secret of his admiration for Husain, particularly as the co-author of his book on Kerala, God's Own Country. The multitude of gods here has made every issue sensitive to one or another group. The charges of Tharoor's love for Israel and love for Husain should cancel each other out.
The Christians seem to have no grievance against him. One aspirant, with massive Christian support, withdrew early in his favour.
One other ghost that haunts Tharoor is his membership of the board of the Coca Cola Foundation, from which he has since resigned. Although the Foundation is essentially meant for welfare activities and the board has many reputed individuals on it, those in Kerala who consider Coca Cola an enemy of the people have tried to make much of Tharoor's service to Coca Cola.
The issue is not as relevant in Thiruvananthapuram as in Palakkad, which was initially suggested as a constituency for Tharoor. The fizz in the Coca Cola controversy seems to have easily disappeared.
Also see: 'Drinking Coke has not Coca Colarised India'
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