New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday appointed Salman Soz as AICC observer for the Lok Sabha elections in Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency, where senior party leader Shashi Tharoor is locked in a triangular contest.

Tharoor is contesting against BJP leader and Union Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar and CPI's Pannayan Raveendran.

A statement issued by the party said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal of appointment of Salman Soz as AICC observer for the Lok Sabha elections in Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency of Kerala with immediate effect.

Tharoor, elected from this seat in 2009, had served as Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Minister of State for External Affairs in the Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments.

Tharoor had scored a hat-trick in the 2019 general elections with a margin of 99,989 votes over his nearest rival.

Tharoor has been campaigning round the clock and talking about his development work in the constituency. He is confident of defeating the challenge of a three-way contest and securing a record fourth term from Thiruvananthapuram.

Voting for the Lok Sabha elections will be held in Kerala on 26 April and counting of votes across the country will take place on 4 June.