Tharoor Skips Kerala Poll Meet Amid Congress Snub Row

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is set to skip a strategy meeting of the party for the upcoming Kerala polls on Friday as he is upset over Rahul Gandhi not properly acknowledging his presence at a recent event and repeated attempts by state leaders to "sideline" him, sources said on Friday.

They claimed that although a number of things had contributed to his dissatisfaction with the treatment he received, Gandhi's failure to recognise him at the "Maha Panchayath," which was held in Kochi on January 19 to celebrate local body vote winners, was the turning point.

Tharoor, a four-time MP and one of the three CWC members from the state who was present on the dais, was not mentioned by Gandhi when he acknowledged other senior politicians on stage and took their names, according to the sources.

According to Tharoor's office, he has notified the party that he is unable to attend the meeting because of his previous obligations at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.

Sources close to him, however, claim that he is extremely displeased with the way the party has treated him, particularly after disagreements were resolved at the Wayanad meetings held on the fringes of the Lakshya 2026 leadership camp, which was arranged by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee to devise plans for the next state Assembly elections.

Tharoor has claimed that he had never strayed from the party position following the conference.

The Congress did not formally respond to the matter.

Leaders of the Kerala Congress united to challenge the LDF in the forthcoming Wayanad assembly elections. It is said that an agreement was made for him to campaign in the state's polls rather than run for office.

Days later, though, disagreements inside the state unit have surfaced once more, with Tharoor appearing dissatisfied with his recent treatment in Kochi.

Tharoor has also sent messages to key party functionaries, including party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Deepa Das Munshi (AICC in-charge Kerala), pointing out the "mistreatment" meted out to him.

Tharoor's statements and articles had invited sharp criticism from Congress leaders at the national and state levels in the recent past.

A row had erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack. His comments were at variance with the Congress stand, and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.

Tharoor has, however, maintained that on foreign policy, there is no variance in stance and there must be bipartisanship.

Kharge is set to chair a key meeting of the party here on Friday with Kerala leaders to fine-tune the party strategy for the assembly polls.