Tired of ‘andhbhakt’, ‘godi’? Shashi Tharoor suggests ‘quockerwodger’

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has suggested an unusual English word, ‘quockerwodger’, as an alternative to commonly used political labels such as ‘andhbhakt’, ‘godi’ and ‘paid followers’.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP, known for introducing obscure English vocabulary to social media, explained that the term refers to a political puppet who takes directions from another person and acts under their control.

Sharing the definition on X, Tharoor presented the word as another way of describing individuals who blindly follow someone else's instructions.

The Congress leader had previously drawn attention to the same term in September, describing it as particularly relevant to the current political climate. He had then taken a swipe at the ruling party, suggesting that several such figures had emerged within its ranks over the past 12 years.

The expressions ‘andhbhakt’ and ‘godi media’ are frequently used by critics of the BJP to refer to its staunch supporters and sections of the media accused of promoting the government's position.

Tharoor has repeatedly used uncommon English words to make political commentary. Among them are ‘allodoxaphobia’, meaning an irrational fear of opinions, ‘farrago’, referring to a confused mixture, and ‘troglodyte’, used to describe someone considered deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.

His vocabulary-related posts have often prompted social media users to look up the meanings of unfamiliar words.