Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday played down reports of a rift with the party leadership, saying everything was fine after he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Parliament.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tharoor said the discussion was positive and constructive. “We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion,” he said.
Asked about speculation of differences within the party, Tharoor replied, “All is good and we are moving together on the same page. What more can I say.” According to PTI, the meeting lasted for more than an hour, and Tharoor said he was satisfied with the outcome.
On questions related to the Congress chief ministerial face for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, Tharoor made it clear that he is not in the race. “I am not interested in being the candidate for anything. At the moment I am already an MP. I have the trust of my voters from Thiruvananthapuram, and I have their interest to look after in Parliament. That is my job,” he said.
Speculation about tensions had surfaced after Tharoor skipped a key Congress strategy meeting for the Kerala polls last week. Sources had suggested that he was upset over what he felt was repeated sidelining by state leaders and Rahul Gandhi not acknowledging him at a party event in Kochi on January 19. At the event, Gandhi named several senior leaders on the stage but did not mention Tharoor, who is a four time MP and a Congress Working Committee member from Kerala.
Tharoor has also faced criticism within the party in the past over his remarks on India Pakistan relations and diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack, which some leaders said did not match the party line. Tharoor, however, has consistently said there is no difference in stance and that foreign policy should rise above party politics.
Meanwhile, Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday chaired an important meeting with Kerala Congress leaders to fine tune the party’s strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections.
