Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has responded to the Vote Vibe survey agency’s prediction that he is the most popular choice as the UDF’s chief ministerial candidate.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor (File Photo: IANS)
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has responded to the Vote Vibe survey agency’s prediction that he is the most popular choice as the UDF’s chief ministerial candidate.
Tharoor shared the survey results on his X handle on Wednesday. He shared the results of the survey on his suitability to become the next Chief Minister with a folded hands emoji.
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The post, shared by a supporter, was also tagged to senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi, and Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan.
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The fan’s post read, “@shashtharoor emerges as the best bet for chief ministerial choice for the 2026 Kerala polls for a faction-ridden UDF alliance, a recent survey reveals.”
Congress leaders in Kerala have so far refrained from commenting on the development. However, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Sunny Joseph, sought to downplay it.He said that in Congress, leadership decisions are made only after the election results.
A pre-2026 Assembly election survey conducted by Vote Vibe, a private research organization, revealed that Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, as the top choice as the UDF’s chief ministerial candidate with 28.3 percent backing him .Tharoor’s party rivals for the coveted post trail badly. AICC general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal is pegged at a poor 4.2 per cent, while others, V D Satheeshan and Sunny Joseph, have popularity ratings of 15 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Other contenders such as Ramesh Chennithala and K Murleedharan have a support of 8.2 and 6 per cent popularity ratings.
Political analysts say Tharoor’s popularity as indicated by Vote Vibe survey is going to pose multiple challenges for AICC leadership,as Congress leadership has a strained relationship with him.
.On the LDF side, former Health Minister KK. Shailaja topped the list with 24.2 per cent support, while incumbent CM Pinarayi Vijayan trailed with 17.5 per cent.
The survey revealed that there is a strong wave of anti-incumbency in Kerala against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
As per the survey , 47.9 per cent of respondents expressed strong anti-incumbency feelings towards Chief Minister Vijayan.
In terms of political trust, the United Democratic Front (UDF) led the field, with 38.9 per cent of respondents backing its development agenda while the LDF followed with 27.8 per cent. The survey findings indicate that BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is also gaining traction as a potential third front, registering 23.1 per cent support.
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