Shashi Tharoor's ‘have my own things’ warning amid reports of rift with Congress
According to Shashi Tharoor, Congress must look beyond its committed voter base for the 2026 Kerala assembly elections.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said that the party needs to expand its voter base, pointing out that he enjoys wider support from even opposition voters.
Speaking to the Indian Express, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was available for the party if needed. He also dropped a bombshell saying that he had ‘other options’ if his leadership was not required. This comes amid reports of a rift between Tharoor and the Congress leadership.
“If the party wants to use that, I will be there for the party. If not, I have my own things to do. You should not think that I have no other option. I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world to give a talk,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.
According to Tharoor, Congress must look beyond its committed voter base for the 2026 Kerala assembly elections. If they fail to do that, Tharoor warned, the party would find itself in the opposition for a third consecutive term.
“Both at the national and the state level, the Congress cannot win only with its committed vote base. It’s a reality. If you look at the national level, the Congress vote was around 19%. Would we be fine with our own vote base? Only if we get 26-27% additional can we come to power. So, we need those who have not backed us in the last two elections,” he said.
Shashi Tharoor’s cryptic X post amid rift rumours
Amid rumours of a rift between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress, the MP shared a cryptic post on X on Saturday, further fueling the fire.
Tharoor shared a quote from English poet Thomas Gray's poem 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College' on X, formerly Twitter, which read “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” He even captioned it as ‘thought of the day’.
Reports of a rift emerging between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress party have been floating, allegedly over an article in which Tharoor praised the Kerala government’s policies. Shashi Tharoor had also reportedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.
Reports also suggested that the MP met the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, recently, asking him to define his role in the Congress. The rift could be a big jolt to the party ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala next year.
