Upset over Rahul 'snub', Tharoor skips poll meet with Cong brass, goes for lit fest instead

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor did not attend the meeting of Kerala state leadership with AICC high command Friday amid reports that he is upset over a recent "snub", even as the party stepped up planning for the upcoming state polls scheduled for mid-2026 and urged netas to put up a united fight.AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi met important netas of the Kerala unit for discussion on poll campaign strategy and seat-sharing with allies.Among those who took part in the session were AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, special poll observer Sachin Pilot, senior neta Ramesh Chennithala, state president Sunny Thomas, LoP V D Satheesan, MPs Kodikunnil Suresh, Adoor Prakash, among others. However, Tharoor did not attend despite an invitation.The Thiruvananthapuram MP was in Kozhikode for Kerala Literature Festival where, sources said, he had a lecture scheduled on an important social reformer. Sources said he had informed the party about his inability to attend the meeting. However, Tharoor is said to be upset that Rahul did not acknowledge him while he mentioned other netas on the dais during Kochi "mahapanchayat" organised after UDF's victory in local body elections.

Tharoor is said to have told the party about his unhappiness about the "snub".To media queries, party's state incharge Deepa Dasmunshi denied that Tharoor was unhappy with Congress.The events before Kochi had suggested a thaw between Tharoor and the party, after the MP's repeated statements and political stance over myriad issues had embarrassed the Congress brass. The repeated clashes between him and Congress had even triggered speculations that Tharoor was searching for political space outside Congress.For Kerala polls, Congress is also discussing the return of estranged ally Kerala Congress (Mani). The party has to decide whether MPs will be fielded in state polls, even as it is almost final that most of the MLAs will be repeated. A comfortable victory for UDF alliance over the governing Left bloc in the local body elections last month rekindled hopes about its prospects in the assembly polls.