- Shashi Tharoor has missed consecutive Congress party meetings, fueling speculation on his future plans
- Kerala Assembly polls next year add significance to the timing of Tharoor's no-show
- Tharoor cited personal reasons for absence. He had earlier praised PM Modi's speech, causing unease in party
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's strained ties with the party leadership may be headed for a climax. The four-time Thiruvananthapuram MP has missed back-to-back party meetings, intensifying speculation regarding his plans after sharp exchanges between Tharoor and a section of Congress colleagues.
Also significant is the timing: Tharoor's home state, Kerala, will go to Assembly polls early next year, and if he intends to quit the Congress, he will likely do so before the election.
The senior leader, however, has downplayed the buzz and said he did not skip the meeting, but missed it because he was in Kerala with his elderly mother.
Last evening, top leaders of the Congress met at the home of Sonia Gandhi, the party's parliamentary chair, to discuss the strategy for the Winter Session that began today. The who's who of the Congress parliamentary party, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, were present.
Tharoor was absent. He told the media today that he had informed the party high command of his inability to attend the meeting. This was the second crucial party meeting that Tharoor missed. Earlier, on November 18, he was absent from a meeting called by Gandhi and Kharge to discuss the party's plans to corner the government on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue.
Tharoor had then conveyed that he was unwell. The senior leader, however, attended a lecture by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the evening before. His praise of Prime Minister Modi's speech, in which he targeted the Congress, raised eyebrows.
In Kerala, meanwhile, the Left, the Congress and other parties are now gearing up for the local body election. In fact, Congress general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal missed yesterday's meeting too. But Tharoor's absence has made headlines due to the repeated instances of him taking stands different from the party high command on key issues.
Shashi Tharoor vs Congress
Tharoor was part of the Congress rebel group, popularly known as G-23, who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in 2020, demanding sweeping reforms in the party's functioning. Two years later, Tharoor unsuccessfully contested against Kharge for the post of Congress president.
But the swift deterioration in his ties with the party started this year. After the Pahalgam terror attack in April and India's Operation Sindoor in May, Tharoor was among the prominent voices who articulated New Delhi's position. His sharp remarks endeared him even to critics, who praised him for setting aside party differences in an hour of crisis. The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre in its action against those behind the terror attack, later changed tack and started asking tough questions to the Centre.
Against this backdrop, Mr Tharoor's remarks backing the government did not sit well with his party colleagues. What added to the strain was the Centre's choice of the former diplomat to lead an Indian delegation as part of a global outreach after Operation Sindoor. Interestingly, the Congress had not proposed Tharoor's name.
Over the past several months, Tharoor's remarks have been at odds with his party's stand, and his colleagues have repeatedly said Tharoor's statements don't reflect the Congress's stand. Party chief Kharge has also made his displeasure clear over Tharoor's praise for the Prime Minister. Kharge has said that the Congress believes in "country first", "but for some people, it's Modi first".
