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Cong discusses strategy for elections in Kerala, Tharoor skips meeting
Top Congress leaders in Kerala met in Delhi to strategise for upcoming assembly polls but Shashi Tharoor skipped it
Top Congress leaders from Kerala convened at the residence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the strategy for the upcoming assembly polls in the state, even as senior leader Shashi Tharoor skipped the meeting amid reports that he is “very upset” over the treatment meted out to him by the party, people aware of the matter said.
Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal took part in the discussions with Kerala LoP VD Satheesan, former LoP Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and working president Shafi Parambil among others.
The meeting comes days before the election committee of the KPCC is set to convene on January 27 where discussions to finalise candidate selection for the state polls will begin.
“An important preparatory meeting with @INCKerala leaders was held for the forthcoming Assembly elections,” Kharge said on X.
One of the pressing issues –– whether the party’s Lok Sabha MPs should be allowed to contest assembly elections –– did not come up for discussions, leaders said.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, however, skipped the meeting, with the lawmaker’s office saying he had informed the party of his inability to attend the meeting due to his prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.
However, according to people close to him, he is “very upset” at the treatment meted out to him by the party. The party has yet to issue a comment on Tharoor’s absence from the discussion.
