Four-time Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, has been at the center of attention—and on his party’s radar—for the past week due to his recent remarks praising both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s governance.
On Tuesday, he further fueled speculation by posting a photo alongside Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
For Kerala's Congress unit, PM Modi and CM Vijayan are both political opponents. State leaders were quick to respond as soon as Tharoor's comments came to light. Feeling an increasing sense of tension, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met with Tharoor, resulting in a meeting in Delhi. The controversy, however, did not cease. A follow-up interview with Tharoor in a national daily reignited the controversy, inviting fresh criticism.
At the same time, word came that Congress high command had called important Kerala party leaders, including Tharoor, to a meeting towards the end of the week. This only fuelled speculation on his position within the party. But a top Congress leader clarified that the meeting had nothing to do with Tharoor and was actually intended to discuss preparation for the next local body elections and planning the party's game plan.
When confronted by the media on Tuesday regarding his interview, released soon after his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Tharoor merely repeated, "This interview was given before the meeting," before walking away from the spot.
Later in the day, he posted a post on X with a picture with visiting British Minister Jonathan Reynolds and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
"Nice to have words with Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, in the presence of his Indian counterpart Commerce & Industry Minister @PiyushGoyal. Revival of stalled FTA negotiations is most welcome," he wrote.
This tweet generated fresh rumors, not only within the party but even among the general public, regarding Tharoor's political prospects in Congress.
There have been reports indicating that Tharoor has been unhappy with the Kerala Congress organization since his defeat in his bid for the office of Congress President. His nomination had raised whispers in the party, and tensions have apparently increased since then.
Before the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, a party colleague had once commented that while senior leaders spent days waiting to meet the high command, "a well-dressed 'man' flew down from the US, was welcomed with open arms at 10 Janpath, and within minutes, walked out with a ticket to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram."
That 'well-dressed man' was Tharoor himself.
Interestingly, K. Sudhakaran, the present Kerala Congress President, who joined the Lok Sabha along with Tharoor in 2009, had earlier complimented Tharoor's oratory skills, stating, "We are not fluent in English and know very little Hindi, but when Tharoor stands to speak in the Lok Sabha, the whole house sits in rapt attention to hear what he says."
Though having worked uninterruptedly for 16 years and being extremely popular with the people, Tharoor is said to be still in conflict with most of his party members, both in Delhi and Kerala. His unhappiness seems to be the result of these internal factors.
A political commentator noted that Tharoor is an asset to any political party, and of course, many would like to have him in their ranks. But the choice is his, and if he decides to quit, it would be a big loss for Congress.
"The high command of the Congress has always been cautious about rivals. Tharoor is seen as one, and that's why there's so much commotion surrounding him at present," the observer said.
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