Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s recent message to party leaders to “dance together”, Tharoor called it a “good message”, saying unity within the alliance was now visible. He also expressed confidence about the UDF’s prospects, suggesting that a tally between 85 and 100 seats in the 140-member Assembly would be a strong outcome.Using a cricketing analogy, Tharoor said the UDF was bowling “googlies” to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), arguing that the ruling alliance was on a “sticky wicket”. While he acknowledged that modern elections tend to revolve around projecting a chief ministerial face, he backed the Congress’ traditional approach. “The Congress has never done that,” he said, explaining that the leadership prefers to choose a leader after victory, in consultation with MLAs.At the same time, Tharoor admitted that the absence of a clear face could have drawbacks. “You and I may have a different view… for there to be a situation where you don’t have a visible leader in a state inevitably tends to hurt you,” he said. However, he argued that the Congress’ organisational strength across Kerala allows it to campaign around “an agenda, around a mission and around the party logo”.Tharoor also downplayed the role of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala, calling it a marginal player. “It is not a triangular contest, for the BJP is a zero-seat party in the assembly,” he said, adding that even a gain of “one or two or three” seats would be seen as a major success for the party.He insisted the real contest remains between the UDF and the LDF led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While he noted that polling suggests a tight race, he said the BJP is “not even likely to have a big enough footprint to be a kingmaker”.Kerala will vote in a single phase on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4, in a closely watched battle to unseat the incumbent LDF government.