Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
Credit: X/@INCMizoram
Aizawl: It was all about 'secret crush' as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor hummed, clapped and danced to a famous Mizo song, and had the 'most fun election campaign' of his entire political career.
The flamboyant leader may not have understood the language of the song 'Di Ruk Te', meaning 'secret crush', sung by popular Mizo singer Sangtei Khuptong, but that did not deter him from shaking a leg, along with state Congress president Lalsawta, on a stage in front of a packed audience at Vanapa Hall here on Saturday.
Khuptong was invited to sing a song in between the Congress MP's interactions with the citizens of Aizawl on the November 7 Mizoram elections.
She first sang an English song and Tharoor was seen recording her performance on his mobile phone sitting in the first row of the auditorium.
As soon as she was about to leave the stage after her performance, Tharoor requested her to sing a Mizo song, to which she readily agreed.
Khuptong also invited the Kerala MP, Lalsawta and other senior Congress leaders on the stage to join her.
On the stage, Tharoor asked the meaning of the song and she explained it to him and other non-Mizo party officials.
"Do you have a secret crush?" Khuptong asked the Parliamentarian after telling him about the song.
"Who would not? Of course, I have," he replied amid a thunder of laughter.
Then she started singing the song and everyone on the stage started dancing to it. Tharoor was seen dancing, clapping and trying to hum the song. The audience too stood on their feet and joined the singer.
After Khuptong completed the song, Tharoor took the cordless microphone from her and thanked her for keeping his request to sing a Mizo song.
'You are fabulous. I must say, in 15 years of politics, this is the most fun I have had in a campaign,' he said amid a huge round of applause from the audience, most of whom were youths.
In the interaction programme, people asked several questions to the senior Congress leader on a range of topics and he replied to them accordingly.
Tharoor arrived in Aizawl on Friday on a three-day visit to campaign for party candidates. He held a series of meetings with various sections of the society and also addressed a press conference. He will leave Mizoram on Sunday.
The Congress is contesting in all 40 constituencies of the state.