Kerala Assembly polls: What next for Congress as Tharoor skips crucial party meet; remains in state instead

New Delhi [India], January 24 (ANI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor skipped a strategy meeting of the party to discuss the upcoming Kerala assembly polls due to prior commitments he had to speak about his latest book 'Sree Narayana Guru' in the Kerala literature festival.
However, Tharoor's absence on Friday comes a few days after he was reportedly 'ignored' by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the party's "Mahapanchayat" organised in Kochi, Kerala, on January 19.
Rahul Gandhi had entered the venue while Tharoor was addressing the Maha Panchayat. While Gandhi, along with KC Venugopal, greeted multiple party leaders, a direct greeting to Tharoor was not given.
Tharoor felt "deeply insulted" as Gandhi mentioned several other leaders on stage but not him, despite his presence. The Congress party denied any internal issues, stating Tharoor had prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.
"Dr Tharoor is in Calicut for the Kerala Literature Festival, Asia's Biggest Literary Festival. He is speaking on his latest book on Sree Narayana Guru. He had informed the party that he won't make it," according to the Congress MP's office.
However, Tharoor reportedly did attend the Prime Minister's event in Thiruvananthapuram, where PM Modi inaugurated multiple Bharat trains.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting was attended by multiple party leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Deepa Dasmunshi, Meira Kumar and others in Delhi.
However, Congress leaders have informed that there is "no difference of opinion" with Tharoor and the central leadership.
"He spoke to the leaders about that, and I guess the leaders have given his permission to be there. This is not about him skipping the meeting. It is an important literary festival in Kerala that he attends every year. This is about our pathway ahead," said party leader Shafi Parambil.
"It is also very important for the party and for us, so he is releasing that (his book), that is why he sent us a message. Party is his priority, he was just in an event with Rahul," said Deepa Dasmunshi, AICC General Secretary.
When asked if Tharoor is 'angry' with the leadership, she added, "No, no, nothing like that. Tharoor is very happy with the Congress party and the central leadership; there is no difference of opinion on this."
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also reiterated that Tharoor is "not annoyed with the party. He said he could not come due to his prior commitment in Kerala Literary Forum in Calicut. He is not angry with the party leadership."
Tharoor is also the working president of the Kerala Congress. This is not the first time the Congress leader has skipped the AICC meeting. Earlier, Tharoor had been criticised by other party leaders for his stance on being part of the multi-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, which went to different countries to put forward India's stance following the Pahalgam terror attack.
At that time, Tharoor had been criticised by his party leaders for the delegation, given that other prominent leaders, like Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Kharge, and others, had not been invited to be part of it.
The Kerala assembly is expected to go to polls before May 2026; no official date has been announced by the Election Commission of India. Multiple political parties have started gearing up and strategising for the polls, with a high-stakes triangular battle set to unfold between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the United Democratic Front (UDF), and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led UDF seek to unseat the incumbent Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF and gain control of the 140-member assembly.
The LDF-led government has governed the state for around a decade. (ANI)