If the Congress does not want him, he has other fish to fry, four-time MP Shashi Tharoor has told his party in a blunt message amid a raging controversy over his praise of the Left government in Kerala.
Tharoor, who has also ruffled the Congress’s feathers by extolling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, has made it clear he is not inclined to join any other party.
“If the Congress wishes to have me, then I will be there for the party. If not, I will have my own things to do. You should not think that I don’t have any options to spend time,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP has been quoted as saying in The Indian Express’s Malayalam podcast, Varthamanam, to be launched on Wednesday.
In excerpts from the interview, carried by The Indian Express, Tharoor adds: “I’ve options, I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world for talks.
“I’m not considering switching parties as I don’t think it’s the right thing to do just because one does not agree with certain issues. I don’t think it will be the right thing to do. One has the freedom to be outside the party, stay as an independent.”
In the interview, the former UN diplomat also flags the “absence of a leader in Kerala’s Congress”, a comment that will further infuriate the state leadership and has been construed as Tharoor throwing his hat in the ring for chief ministership ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.
Late on Monday night, the high command called the Kerala leadership to Delhi to find a way out of the Tharoor imbroglio, among others.
Tharoor’s recent praise of Kerala’s Left Democratic Front government’s industrial policy, carried in The New Indian Express, had led to a stinging rebuke in a regional Congress mouthpiece. The MP maintains his sole objective was to highlight the state’s entrepreneurial and innovation-driven growth.
As for his celebration of the Modi-Trump meeting, his defence has been that Modi’s being the fourth world leader to meet the new US President underscores India’s growing global importance.
Tharoor, who had an excellent rapport with former Congress chief minister Oommen Chandy, has repeatedly asserted that the veteran’s passing has left a void in Kerala politics. It’s in this context that, in the podcast interview, he rues the lack of a leader in the state Congress.
“If the Congress does not try to expand its appeal, it would be sitting in Opposition for the third consecutive time in Kerala, which will see Assembly elections next year,” he says.
“The Congress cannot win at the national and state levels only with its committed vote base. It’s a reality. If you look at the national level, the Congress vote was around 19 per cent. Would we be fine with our own vote base? Only if we get 26-27 per cent additional (votes) can we come to power. So, we need those who have not backed us in the last two elections.”
A senior Congress leader close to Tharoor told The Telegraph that the MP’s comment about the “absence of a leader” in the state Congress was a veiled attack on legislature party leader V.D.Satheesan.
“Satheesan is aiming for the seat of chief minister. There are other frontrunners, including Tharoor, who has the backing of the Indian Union Muslim League, the second-largest ally in the UDF (United Democratic Front) after the Congress,” the leader said.
“By snubbing Satheesan... Tharoor is making the point that he is here as a chief ministerial candidate. Tharoor has more adversaries in the party than any other leader but the public adores him.
“They feel he is chief minister material and will bring development, thanks to his multifaceted qualities and accomplishments along with the clout, poise, flamboyance and style he possesses.”
The Tharoor controversy is expected to figure at the two-day UDF liaison committee meeting, to be held in Kochi from Wednesday.
The party high command is annoyed with Tharoor for courting back-to-back controversies at a time when, it feels, the Kerala unit should be staying united with hardly a year left before the Assembly polls.
Among the states voting next year — Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry — the Congress central leadership is the most hopeful about Kerala.