Not a CM probable; ideally post should go to elected MLA: Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor affirms UDF's Kerala poll strategy favors elected MLAs for CM amid strong anti-incumbency against LDF.

Ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday (March 19, 2026) said he is not a chief ministerial probable as he is not a candidate in the election and believes that ideally the CM should be picked from among the elected MLAs.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Mr. Tharoor said since he is not a candidate, he does not have to worry about one particular constituency and that his role in the State polls is a "mixed bag". He added that he is looking forward to going "up and down the length and breadth of the State" to campaign.

Mr. Tharoor also referred to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's advice to UDF leaders recently in which he metaphorically asked them to "dance together", and said it was a "good message" to give and now "everyone is dancing together".

Mr. Tharoor also said that while he would be happy with a majority, a figure between 85-100 seats would be good for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 140-member assembly.

Using cricketing analogy, Mr. Tharoor said the UDF is bowling "googlies" particularly to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) because "they are on a sticky wicket and we can catch them on that".

The MP from Thiruvananthapuram also said that with elections becoming more and more presidential in nature, he personally favours projecting a probable CM face ahead of the polls, but in Kerala, the Congress has the ability to deliver results not around an individual face or a name but around an agenda, a mission and the party logo.