Tharoor’s Kerala CM ambitions stir Cong; BJP backs him

Senior Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor’s chief ministerial aspirations in Kerala are unlikely to sit well with the Congress, with party insiders suggesting that the race for leadership is already tightly contested, leaving little room for a third contender.

Tharoor’s recent remarks — warning the party that he had “other things to do” if it didn’t find him useful — have further complicated Kerala’s political landscape. His praise for both the CPM-led state government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit has also raised eyebrows within the Congress.

Reliable sources indicate that the current leadership race in Kerala has two key contenders: Rahul Gandhi’s close aide and AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and former Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.

“Where is the space for a third contestant?” questioned a senior Congress leader, adding that Venugopal could be asked to take charge in Kerala, where the party hopes to perform well in the 2026 Assembly elections.

While the Congress has fared well in Kerala in Lok Sabha elections — winning 15 of 20 seats in 2019 and 14 in 2024 — it suffered a setback in the 2021 Assembly elections, losing to the incumbent Left Democratic Front. The defeat, which saw the party securing only 41 seats in the 140-member House with a 39.47 per cent vote share, was widely attributed to the leadership of the late Oommen Chandy and Chennithala.

Since then, Venugopal has emerged as a dominant force in Kerala Congress, playing a key role in appointing state unit chief K Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and even district presidents. Sources suggest that if the party performs well in the upcoming elections, Venugopal could be Rahul Gandhi’s top choice to lead the state unit.

With Venugopal firmly in control of Kerala’s Congress strategy, Tharoor’s warning remains just that — for now.

Meanwhile, the BJP has thrown its weight behind Tharoor, arguing that his marginalisation within the Congress was inevitable after he contested the party’s presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge, the Gandhi family’s preferred candidate.

“His downsising would have been swifter and more conspicuous if not for his high public profile. The Congress, after all, is nothing but a proprietorship firm of the Gandhis,” BJP leader Amit Malviya remarked.