Tharoor signals active involvement in UDF’s Assembly campaign after meeting Kerala Opposition leader

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan calls on Mr. Tharoor at the latter’s house in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday

Congress Working Committee member Shashi Tharoor, MP, on Saturday signalled that he would actively campaign for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Assembly elections. 

Mr. Tharoor’s reaction came hours after Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan called on him at the latter’s home in Thiruvananthapuram. “I will work for the Congress’ victory. I have always been a Congressperson. I need not take questions on my political allegiance every day,” he said. 

Notably, Mr. Tharoor had played a key role in preparing the UDF’s election manifesto in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress insiders said Mr. Tharoor might help draft the Congress’ 2026 manifesto, “Vision 2026”. He was also likely to campaign alongside Mr. Satheesan, who is embarking on a State-wide tour on February 6. 

A Congress insider said the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) felt that Mr. Tharoor’s active presence on the campaign trail would help the UDF attract the younger demographic, especially aspirant and educated youth. Moreover, Mr. Tharoor’s stature as an author and diplomat who strode the world stage gave him unique traction among voters in Kerala, given the State’s high literacy rate. 

He said it also helped the KPCC that Mr. Satheesan had rarely been publicly critical of Mr. Tharoor and had fended off questions about the MP by pointing out that he was a CWC member and ranked higher than him in the Congress hierarchy. 

By actively inserting himself into the Assembly election campaign, Mr. Tharoor also appeared to outpace criticism within the Congress for being a truant MP and party leaders. Mr. Tharoor had also faced censure for violating the party line, especially on Operation Sindoor, and certain nationalistic positions, which appeared to be an endorsement of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.