Shashi Tharoor walks out of KPCC ‘Maha Panchayat’, alleges snub by Congress leadership

The Congress “Maha Panchayat” meet, held in Kochi held on January 20, reportedly turned out bitter for Shashi Tharoor as he felt sidelined by the leadership. He reportedly walked out of the ‘Maha Panchayat”, marking a fresh deterioration in his relationship with the Congress leadership.

The controversy arose when Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, while addressing the gathering, mentioned all the prominent leaders on stage by name except Tharoor, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and MP from Thiruvananthapuram, a move perceived as an insult to the senior leader.

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It has been reported that Tharoor had earlier sought guidance on the programme details, asking whether he should accompany Rahul Gandhi to writer M Leelavathi’s house or go directly to the event. He was instructed only to report at the programme site and deliver his speech before Rahul’s arrival. Party insiders said while six other leaders spoke in Rahul’s presence, Tharoor stopped his speech when he arrived.

The episode left Tharoor feeling “unwanted” by the Congress leadership and raised serious questions about his future in the party.

Following this, it has been reported that the Congress MP has decided not to participate in the discussions that the high command is holding with the Kerala leaders related to the assembly elections.

Along with this, footage of Rahul Gandhi asking former KPCC president K Sudhakaran, who was sitting near to him, to change his seat was also circulated. Reports stating that Opposition leader VD Satheesan was not allowed to travel in Rahul’s car also emerged.

Tharoor had come closer to the Congress leadership after ending his estrangement with the party in the Lakshya camp in Wayanad. He said he enjoyed interacting with senior colleagues at the two-day Lakshya Leadership Summit in Kerala’s Wayanad.

In a post on X earlier this month, Tharoor shared his interaction with Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, Kerala Assembly Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and other leaders at the party’s Lakshya Leadership Summit, organised to showcase strength and unity ahead of Kerala Assembly election.

However, the happenings in the Maha panchayat have changed all that, it adds to existing tensions within the Kerala Congress unit regarding Tharoor’s positioning and past statements that have sometimes diverged from the party line.