Shashi Tharoor stirs fresh controversy by underlining ‘absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress’

Arguably, Mr. Tharoor also appeared to advocate for his candidacy as the party’s leader ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, supposedly claiming in the interview that opinion polls from independent agencies indicated he was ‘ahead of others in leadership stakes in (the Congress) in Kerala’

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor, MP, appeared to have ruffled his party’s feathers by purportedly underscoring the “absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress” in a newspaper interview published from New Delhi on Sunday (February 23, 2025).

Arguably, Mr. Tharoor also appeared to advocate for his candidacy as the party’s leader ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, supposedly claiming in the interview that opinion polls from independent agencies indicated he was “ahead of others in leadership stakes in (the Congress) in Kerala.”

Mr. Tharoor also seemed to fire a shot across the Congress leadership’s bows by “remarking” that he was “available for the party” but had other “options”, including speaking tours and books, if Congress did not require his services.

Mr. Tharoor also seemed to cast a pall of despondency over the State Congress’ leadership aspirations of wresting power from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the 2026 Assembly polls by warning that the party would sit in the opposition for a third consecutive time if it did not expand its base and gain non-partisan political support, including from sections traditionally opposed to the United Democratic Front (UDF).

The newspaper reported that Mr. Tharoor claimed that politically non-partisan support, including from Congress opponents, had spurred his fourth consecutive victory from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency in 2024. “That is what we want in 2026,” the newspaper stated, attributing the quote to Mr. Tharoor.

Mr. Tharoor was yet to deny the interview, which came less than a week after he earned the ire of the Congress leadership for “praising” the LDF government’s “success” in the start-up sector and the “ease of doing business” climate in Kerala.

The controversy culminated in a private, one-on-one meeting with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, arguably leading to lessening intra-party criticism of Mr. Tharoor.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala hinted that Mr. Tharoor’s interview was likely politically superfluous as it was “given before the CWC member met with Mr. Gandhi”.

However, Mr. Chennithala’s bid to dial down the latest controversy assailing Congress did not stop opposing alliances from scrambling to read the political tea leaves in Mr. Tharoor’s interview.

A. K. Balan, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], told The Hindu, Mr. Tharoor’s stance would give Congress’ “divided leadership sleepless nights”. Mr. Balan said the “regrettable state of affairs” in Congress had impelled the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership to complain to the high command. “IUML cannot risk sitting in the opposition for a third consecutive time due to Congress’s failures”, he said.

Mr. Balan also welcomed Mr Tharoor’s endorsement of Kerala’s development. Mr. Balan said Mr. Tharoor had accurately reflected the reality that LDF would return to power for a third consecutive term in the 2026 Assembly polls.

In Thrissur, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran told reporters that Mr. Tharoor had crossed a line. However, he added that Mr. Tharoor was unlikely to raise to the CPI(M)‘s bait and abandon ship.

Professor K. V. Thomas, a former Congress leader and Kerala’s Special Representative in New Delhi, told The Hindu that the Congress had sidelined Mr. Tharoor, a renowned writer and orator, both in Parliament and within party committees.

He noted that Congress had isolated Mr. Tharoor and, previously, himself for advocating Kerala’s development, irrespective of narrow party politics.

“It’s premature to say whether Mr. Tharoor’s political messaging will cause a new churning in Kerala politics or have a bearing on Congress’s state of affairs”, he said.

Published - February 23, 2025 02:51 pm IST