- Shashi Tharoor shared a Vote Vibe survey showing him as the preferred Kerala chief minister candidate
- Tharoor’s ties with Congress leadership have been strained since contesting party presidential polls
- Vote Vibe survey showed 28.3% support for Tharoor and 27.1% of voters undecided on UDF leadership
A former minister in Kerala from the Congress has dismissed a survey that indicated party colleague Shashi Tharoor is the most preferred candidate for the chief minister's post. The next assembly election in Kerala will be held in 2026.
Mr Tharoor, whose actions and comments in recent times have led to speculation of a surprise announcement, in a post on X shared the survey by a private organisation 'Vote Vibe', which said the Congress MP seemed to be the best fit for the chief minister's post in the southern state where the United Democratic Front (UDF) government is struggling with factional tension.
The former state minister, Ramesh Chennithala, to a question by reporters on Mr Tharoor endorsing the results of the private survey, said, "Such surveys have no credibility. They are all cooked up. You will see many such surveys come up ahead of elections."
"It is all fabricated," Mr Chennithala, who was also Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly.
Other Congress leaders in Kerala have not commented on the matter.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 9, 2025
Newly appointed Kerala Congress chief Sunny Josep sought to downplay the survey's claim. He said that in the Congress, leadership decisions are made only after the election result. "There is a process for it."
Mr Tharoor's ties with the Congress leadership have been strained since he decided to contest the party's presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge.
Tension escalated further when his name was excluded from the list of Congress leaders - selected by the party - recommended for the Union government's Operation Sindoor outreach.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi later invited Mr Tharoor to lead a delegation to the US and other countries. On his return, he acknowledged differences with the party leadership but said he was open to a dialogue if asked.
A four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram since 2009, Mr Tharoor topped the Vote Vibe pre-poll survey with 28.3 per cent support in Kerala.
The survey, however, flagged a leadership vacuum within the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), with 27.1 per cent of voters remaining undecided on the alliance's face.
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