Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to address his grievances, after which he said “all is good” and that the leadership was “on the same page”, signalling a rapprochement ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections.
The meeting, held in Kharge’s chamber in the Parliament House complex, lasted over one hour and forty-five minutes and followed weeks of reported disquiet between Tharoor and sections of the party’s Kerala leadership.
“We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion,” Tharoor said.
“All is good and we are moving together on the same page. What more can I say,” he told reporters on the Parliament premises.
Asked whether the issue of projecting a chief ministerial face for the Kerala polls had come up, Tharoor said it was never under discussion.
“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. I have their interest to look after in Parliament, that is my job,” he said.
Tharoor later said he was “very satisfied” with the meeting with the party’s top leadership.
Also read: Tharoor admits 'differences' with Congress
In a post on X, he wrote: “Thanks to @INCIndia President @kharge ji and LS LoP @RahulGandhi ji for a warm and constructive discussion today on a wide range of subjects. We are all on the same page as we move forward in the service of the people of India.”
Sources described the interaction as a comprehensive discussion covering a wide range of issues, adding that there was a shared resolve to move forward together. The meeting assumes significance ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls, where the Congress is seeking to return to power after a decade in the opposition.
Tharoor had skipped a key party strategy meeting last week amid reports of dissatisfaction over what he perceived as attempts by state leaders to sideline him and Rahul Gandhi not acknowledging his presence at a party event in Kochi earlier this month.
Sources close to him had said the tipping point was Gandhi not mentioning Tharoor at the ‘Maha Panchayath’ in Kochi on January 19, held to felicitate local body poll winners, despite his presence on the dais.
Tensions had also surfaced last year following Tharoor’s remarks on India’s diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack, which were seen as diverging from the party’s position. Tharoor has maintained that there is no variance in stance and that foreign policy should reflect bipartisanship.
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