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Shashi Tharoor recently praised PM Modi and the Kerala government. He has now said that he has “options” if the Congress does not require his services.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (PTI Image)
Amid rumours of a rift with the Congress over his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the LDF government in Kerala, Shashi Tharoor has said that he is available for the party, however, also warned that he had “options” if the party did not require his services.
However, Tharoor dismissed talks of switching parties, stating that he did not believe in jumping ships even if he had differences in opinions in the party.
His remarks came while appearing in The Indian Express Malayalam podcast.
The Congress leader’s remarks came after he recently praised the Kerala government’s policies and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington DC. His gestures did not go down well with the grand old party.
Reacting to the controversy, Tharoor said that he had “narrow political thoughts” and did not think of himself as a politician. He said that Congress needs to expand its base in Kerala to gain new voters and flagged that there is an absence of a leader in the state unit of the party.
He asserted that several Congress members supported his view that the party’s Kerala unit lacked a clear leader. Citing opinion polls conducted by independent organisations, he claimed these surveys placed him ahead of others in the state’s leadership stakes.
A four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor cautioned that if the Congress failed to broaden its appeal, it risked remaining in the opposition for a third consecutive term in Kerala, where Assembly elections are set to take place next year.
Earlier in the day, Tharoor dodged the media query over a rift between him and Congress and asked the reporters to “go and watch the match” instead.
“No comments at all, Go match the match. It’s an important match today,” he said while referring to the India vs Pakistan contest in the ICC Champions Trophy.
On February 18, Tharoor met Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and described their half-hour conversation as “very good.” He stated that he was able to convey certain key issues during the discussion.
When pressed for details, he declined to disclose specifics, emphasising that it was a private, one-on-one meeting. He also clarified that the discussion did not touch upon upcoming elections or leadership roles in Kerala.
Rahul Gandhi had invited Tharoor for the meeting following a controversy over his article praising the LDF government in Kerala for promoting entrepreneurship—remarks that were strongly rejected by the state Congress and other opposition leaders.
