Shashi Tharoor & Congress: The Couple That Can’t Live With Or Without Each Other

Last Updated:June 22, 2026, 16:11 IST

The Congress says Shashi Tharoor times his comments deliberately when the party has taken a line to question the PM. Tharoor’s supporters say they read his comments wrong

Can Shashi Tharoor and his party, the Congress, ever be friends? Seems unlikely.

The truce between the two lasted till the Kerala elections. With the polls over, the ‘friendship’ too seems to be over.

There are two immediate provocations. One was Tharoor’s recent comment on the PM Modi-US President Trump interaction at the G7 summit.

Pawan Khera posted on X that Tharoor and his “admiration for PM Modi appears to have transcended the limitations of the physical world".

Not that Tharoor remained mum. He too posted, “For those who believe I ‘heard’ words that Narendra Modi never said at the G7, I was merely alluding to widely published reports about his remarks."

Even his Kashmir visit and his thumbs-up to the peace outreach evoked a reprimand from Khera.

In the run-up to the elections, Rahul Gandhi had heard out Tharoor and assured him that his version of growth for Kerala would be implemented. The Congress then had a vested interest. During the elections, the party did not want to antagonise Gen Z or young/first-time voters. Hence the need to keep Tharoor by their side. But with the polls over, the need to be friends seems over.

But why can’t these public spats be avoided by picking up the phone?

The Congress says Tharoor times his comments deliberately when the party has taken a line to question the PM. Tharoor’s supporters say they read his comments wrong and if they had picked up the phone, he could have explained. So this seems like a deliberate attempt to attack and malign him publicly.

Both sides are waiting for the other to blink first. For Tharoor to be asked to leave means he gets to be the martyr, plus doesn’t lose the seat. But for the Congress, it’s a dilemma. Some feel it’s best to weed out those who seem to be tilting towards the BJP or PM.

Given the season of defections and exit, the Congress wants to take no chance. But the issue is that telling him to leave or issuing a show-cause notice will earn the perception that Congress is anti-nation.

So, like a bad marriage, each is waiting for the right moment to part.

About the Author

Pallavi Ghosh

Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. S...Read More

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