Within months of joining the party, actor Kushboo has got herself a prominent national role in the Congress.
On Tuesday, she was appointed a national spokesperson, making her one of the faces that would represent the Congress in the media in New Delhi.
Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Kushboo said she was extremely happy with the appointment. “I got to know about the appointment through the media. I will be going to Delhi to see what exactly my role should be,” she said and added she would now spend more time in the capital than in Chennai.
The actor, who achieved great popularity in the early 1990s in Tamil cinema, quit the DMK in November and moved to the Congress.
Lack of recognition and a tiff with DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin was considered her reasons for leaving the party.
Ever since her entry into the Congress, she had toured the State widely, accompanying TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan on a number of public rallies and taking on opponents on a variety of issues. She was even invited to party internal meetings, which did not go down well with the other women leaders such as MLA S. Vijayadharini.
Over the last few weeks, speculations were rife in the TNCC that Ms. Kushboo might be made the leader of the party’s women wing in Tamil Nadu. However, her relative inexperience in the organisation might have scuttled such hopes. Nevertheless, Congress leaders feel she has now been given a much bigger role, which has eluded even senior leaders with decades of organisational experience.
“The spokesperson post is the first step towards making it big in the Congress. We are all quite surprised at this appointment. But it is a fact that she was always aiming for a national role and this seemed to be the deal when she was drafted into the party,” a senior leader and former Congress parliamentarian said.
The consensus in the TNCC is that Ms. Kushboo has been in the good books of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
There are also some who doubt the timing of the announcement. “While she has been known as an articulate speaker, her views on important political issues are still untested. She is also known for her very liberal views on many matters which could be at odds with the opinion of many other Congress leaders,” said an AICC member.
