I f you're an overseas Indian planning to blitz your way into public life back home, nothing helps like a little grime and sweat, impressive profession- al credentials, and a smattering of the vernacular. That, at least, was the expectation in the case of former United Nations Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, who is running as the Congress Party's candidate for the lower house of parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. "I am not a newcomer here. I've a house here - my mom lives here. I'll use all my contacts to bring in investments to my constituency. This is a vote for a stable government under Prime Minis- ter Manmohan Singh," Tharoor was quoted as saying during a roadside stop in a BBC news report. Polling for the Thiruvanthapuram seat was held on April 16. The month-long national elec- tion ends May 13, and results are due on May 16. Battling it out with three other contestants – P. Ramachandran Nair, of the Communist Party of India; P Krishnadas of the Bharatiya Janata .K. Party; and Neelalohithadasan Nadar of the Bahu- jan Samaj Party – Tharoor, 53, hopes his distin- guished background as a foreign diplomat and author (‘The Great Indian Novel,' among other books) will help propel him to a seat in parliament. Helped by public dissatisfaction with the rul- ing Left Democratic Front government and his own popularity with women, youth and the mid- dle class, Tharoor presented a strong challenge to the Communist Party's machinery in the state. Factors that influenced the election, according to news reports, were the support among Congress Party cadres for Tharoor and Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres for the CPI candidate. Criticized for his poor Malayalam, Tharoor, who lost his bid as India's candidate for the office of U.N. Under-Secretary General to Ban Ki- moon in 2006, sees the language barrier as a chal- lenge rather than a hindrance. "The election is not a test of my Malayalam proficiency," he was quoted as saying during a television show. "I can understand what people want. And I am confident of conveying this in parliament in a language that I know quite well." Backed by none other than Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, Tharoor could have chosen an easier route to parliament – by being nominated to the upper house. But fighting, and winning, an election was more likely to guarantee political legitimacy.