Tharoor signals active involvement in UDF’s Assembly campaign after meeting Kerala Opposition leader

Congress Working Committee member Shashi Tharoor, MP, on Saturday signalled that he would actively campaign for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Assembly elections. 

Mr. Tharoor’s reaction came hours after Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan called on him at the latter’s home in Thiruvananthapuram. “I will work for the Congress’ victory. I have always been a Congressperson. I need not take questions on my political allegiance every day,” he said. 

Notably, Mr. Tharoor had played a key role in preparing the UDF’s election manifesto in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress insiders said Mr. Tharoor might help draft the Congress’ 2026 manifesto, “Vision 2026”. He was also likely to campaign alongside Mr. Satheesan, who is embarking on a State-wide tour on February 6. 

A Congress insider said the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) felt that Mr. Tharoor’s active presence on the campaign trail would help the UDF attract the younger demographic, especially aspirant and educated youth. Moreover, Mr. Tharoor’s stature as an author and diplomat who strode the world stage gave him unique traction among voters in Kerala, given the State’s high literacy rate. 

He said it also helped the KPCC that Mr. Satheesan had rarely been publicly critical of Mr. Tharoor and had fended off questions about the MP by pointing out that he was a CWC member and ranked higher than him in the Congress hierarchy. 

Flak from within

By actively inserting himself into the Assembly election campaign, Mr. Tharoor also appeared to outpace criticism within the Congress for being a truant MP and party leaders. Mr. Tharoor had also faced censure for violating the party line, especially on Operation Sindoor, and certain nationalistic positions, which appeared to be an endorsement of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. 

Mr. Tharoor stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had cherry-picked portions of his articles and statements and portrayed them misleadingly as anti-Congress. 

Mr. Satheesan told reporters that he had a fruitful discussion with Mr. Tharoor, and the high-profile CWC members’ active presence on the campaign trial would supercharge the UDF’s campaign. 

On Friday, Mr. Tharoor sought to put to rest speculation that he was gravitating away from the Congress party by attending the 78th Mahatma Gandhi Martyr Day observance at the KPCC headquarters at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.