Shashi Tharoor For UN Secretary General

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Who played the spoiler to Tharoor's UN bid? </b>
Wednesday October 4 2006 00:00 IST
IANS
NEW DELHI: Shashi Tharoor’s exit from the race for the UN top job, after he lost the final informal straw poll Monday, has ‘‘disappointed, but not surprised’’ diplomats and UN-watchers here, and has sparked speculation as to which of the five permanent members could have voted against the Indian diplomat-author.

‘‘It’s not surprising. Nothing surprises me. We had a good campaign. One permanent member voted against Tharoor and that was the end of it,’’ Chinmaya R Gharekhan, Prime Minister’s special envoy to West Asia and the country’s former permanent representative to the UN, said.

‘‘We will never come to know which permanent member voted against us,’’ said Gharekhan, who has penned an incisive study on the UN system entitled ‘‘The Horseshoe Table.’’ Tharoor, the UN Undersecretary General for public information and an acknowledged writer, withdrew after garnering 10 votes in favor, three against, one of which was a veto from a permanent member, and two ‘‘no opinions.’’

The 62-year-old Ban Ki-moon received 14 votes in favor and one ‘‘no opinion’’ and no veto from a permanent member. If he wins, he will succeed the incumbent Kofi Annan when the latter’s 10-year tenure expires on December 31.

In South Block, the news of Tharoor’s withdrawal from the race was received with ‘‘disappointment,’’ but officials tried to put a brave face on it and praised Tharoor, the youngest candidate at 50, for his can-do spirit and his exhaustive campaign to the world’s leading capitals to muster support for his candidature.

‘‘He put up a good show despite announcing the candidature late in the day. Nothing is certain in international politics and nobody can be taken for granted,’’ a senior official, who doesn’t wish to be identified, said.

‘‘What it proves is that if you don’t get the P-5 on the side, you don’t win,’’ Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary said. Asked who could have cast the negative vote that signalled a sure exit for Tharoor from this high-stakes game, Mansingh said that it was hard to say as the balloting was secret.

A former diplomat, who does not wish to quoted, however, speculated that it was China that cast that exclusionary negative vote that clinched the fate of Tharoor’s candidature. ‘‘The Chinese would not want an Indian to run the UN. While our relations are improving, we must accept the fact that in the long term China and India are competitors,’’ he said.<b> ‘‘It’s possible that the US could have thrown its weight behind Bank Ki-moon,’’ he surmised. </b>

Mansingh sees a brighter side to Tharoor’s spirited campaign.

‘‘What came as a pleasant surprise was the strong showing Tharoor had till the last straw poll,’’ Mansingh said <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Mansingh should look for UN post.