'All Is Well, Not Looking For A New Job': Shashi Tharoor Meets Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge

Last Updated:January 29, 2026, 14:16 IST

Shashi Tharoor said his meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge was “very good” and “constructive,” asserting that the Congress leadership was united.

Shashi Tharoor meets Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge (Photo: X/@ShashiTharoor)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday underscored unity within the party after he met with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

He later described the meeting as a “very good, constructive, positive discussion" and insisted that the leadership was “moving together on the same page."

Speaking to reporters after the meeting at Parliament, Tharoor said, “We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion."

“All is good, and we are moving together on the same page. What more can I say? I have always campaigned for the party, where have I not campaigned?" Tharoor said.

He also firmly rejected suggestions that the talks involved any discussion about him seeking higher office in Kerala.

“No, that was never discussed. I am not interested in being a candidate for anything. At the moment, I am already an MP, and I have the trust of my voters from Thiruvananthapuram," Tharoor said.

“I have to look after their interests in Parliament, that is my job," he said when asked whether the Kerala chief ministership had come up.

Later, Tharoor, in an X post, thanked Kharge and Gandhi for the “warm and constructive discussion".

He also shared a photo of himself with the two.

Before the meeting, Tharoor had struck a cautious note while addressing reporters in Delhi, saying, “I am going to attend Parliament right now. When it happens, I’ll let you know."

The brief remark came as media attention focused on the high-profile interaction with the Congress top brass.

The meeting was held at Kharge’s office in the Parliament complex amid reports of differences between Tharoor and the party high command.

According to news agency ANI, the interaction followed Tharoor skipping an All India Congress Committee meeting that was called to discuss preparations for the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls.

Tharoor had earlier clarified that he had informed the party leadership in advance about his inability to attend that meeting because of prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival, where he was scheduled to speak on his latest book on Sree Narayana Guru.

On January 24, Tharoor had indicated that there were some “issues" between him and the party and that he wished to discuss them internally with the leadership rather than in public.

“Whatever issues there are, I would have to discuss them with the party leadership, and I look forward to the opportunity to do so. I’m not entering into this issue in public at all," he had said at the time, adding that several media reports about his absence from party meetings “might be true, while others may not be," and that such matters should not be debated on public platforms.

Tharoor’s absence from the AICC meeting came days after an episode at the party’s ‘Mahapanchayat’ in Kochi on January 19, where he was reportedly upset over not being directly greeted by Rahul Gandhi while several leaders were acknowledged on stage.

The Congress party, ANI reported, had denied that there were any internal issues and maintained that Tharoor had prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.

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