THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the Congress high command has stood with Shashi Tharoor, defying the sentiments of the state leadership, the journey is unlikely to be smooth for the Thiruvananthapuram MP as resistance against him has grown stronger among party leaders in Kerala. His political mantra “party politics is not the need of the hour” is something his rivals in the party would refuse to accept.
A majority of senior Congress leaders are unhappy with the prominence accorded to Tharoor by the national leadership. They say the party has given the four-time MP enough leeway.
“Tharoor hasn’t corrected his position even after Rahul Gandhi spoke to him,” a senior Congress leader told TNIE.
“He was made a Union minister as a first-time MP. He has been the chairman of the parliamentary committee twice. When senior leaders like Ramesh Chennithala was made an invitee, Tharoor was included in the CWC.”
There is also criticism about Tharoor’s lack of participation in discussions at party forums. “He is a member of the political affairs committee. But he is playing the role of a guest artist. There are criticisms from ordinary workers about his MP office. He is unavailable to ordinary people,” another senior leader said.
Excluding state Congress president K Sudhakaran, most other sections in the party are unhappy with Tharoor.
“Tharoor has not committed any grave mistake. These are interpretations. I have asked everyone to stop creating controversies” Sudhakaran told reporters on Wednesday. Noticeably, Tharoor had supported Sudhakaran’s continuing as the party state president.
Leaders across groups view Tharoor as a possible contender for the CM post. As of now, there are three contenders for the post — Ramesh Chennithala, K C Venugopal and V D Satheesan. There is a feeling among the groups that should there be a fight among these leaders, Tharoor may emerge as a consensus candidate.
The high command acknowledging Tharoor has come as a setback to not only the state leaders but also to the powerful AICC general secretary Venugopal. That Venugopal was excluded from the Rahul-Tharoor discussion was a shock to the group managers too.
“It is learnt that Venugopal was excluded at the behest of Tharoor. This could be the first time he isn’t part of a discussion on a state-related matter,” a senior national leader said.
Meanwhile, a section of youth leaders feels that Tharoor should be made the party’s face if it wants to come back to power. “People like his views and ideas. Across all communities, gender, and party politics, Tharoor has support,” a young KPCC office-bearer said.
Tharoor, meanwhile, has reiterated his earlier stand expressed in the TNIE article.
“This is what I had been advocating for 15 or 16 years. I was saying that youths are migrating to other places because of unemployment. However, when I saw in a report that Kerala has achieved in the last 18 months what I was saying for years, I first spoke about it in a programme of Cochin Chamber of Commerce. Then I wrote an article. I had used the facts and figures from the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 and Ease of Doing Business Ranking 2024. If it is wrong, let them raise it,” Tharoor said.
‘new development politics’
The Tharoor camp feels the controversy has become a springboard for him to present a new development politics before society.
“Tharoor’s rivals are afraid that he is following the path of CPM leader V S Achuthanandan who cultivated his support base outside the party,” a close associate of Tharoor said.