Kerala Congress Leaders Meet Kharge Ahead of Assembly Polls, Tharoor Skips Key Meet

Senior Congress leaders from Kerala met at party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi on Friday to chalk out strategy for the upcoming state assembly elections. The meeting, however, was marked by the absence of senior leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, amid reports that he is “very upset” over the way he has been treated by the party, according to people familiar with the matter.

The discussions were attended by Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, former LoP Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC president Sunny Joseph and working president Shafi Parambil, among others.

The meeting comes just days ahead of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s election committee meeting scheduled for January 27, where the process of finalising candidates for the assembly polls is expected to begin.

Calling it a key preparatory exercise, Kharge said on X, “An important preparatory meeting with @INCKerala leaders was held for the forthcoming Assembly elections.”

Leaders said one contentious issue — whether Congress’s sitting Lok Sabha MPs should be allowed to contest the assembly elections — did not figure in the discussions.

Tharoor’s office said the MP had informed the party in advance that he would be unable to attend the meeting due to prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.

However, people close to Tharoor said he is deeply unhappy with the party leadership over his treatment. The Congress has not issued any official comment on his absence from the meeting.