‘I am not a Rahulian’: Mani Shankar Aiyar’s remarks endorsing Vijayan govt snowball into major controversy

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s recent remarks predicting the return of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala have triggered an explosive war of words.

While several Congress leaders have called the remarks “a personal opinion”, others have gone on to claim that Aiyar was no longer a Congress member.

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Aiyar has hit back, asserting he was very much in the Congress party and taking an aim at party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Pawan Khera, and KC Venugopal.

“I am in the Congress party, I haven’t left it. Mr Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that I am a member of the party. Therefore, I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian, but I am not a Rahulian,” Aiyar told news agency ANI after his remarks on the Vijayan government snowballed into a controversy.

Aiyar defended his remarks on Vijayan’s government, asking why Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera was getting upset.

“He (Khera) has allied with MA Baby in Delhi and he is getting upset about my being allied with Pinarayi Vijayan here. What kind of Congress leader is he? Above all, how stupid can a party be than to make Pawan Khera the spokesman? There are a million people in Congress who would make a better spokesman,” Aiyar said, calling Khera a puppet of Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress veteran further said the party has a bleak future in Kerala, as its leaders are “all at each other’s throats”.

“Do you think the people of Kerala don’t know what is happening in the Congress leadership? At least in Pinarayi’s government, there is discipline,” he said.

Aiyar also pitched Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin’s name for the position of the India bloc chief.

“If the INDIA bloc is consolidated, I think the best man to consolidate it is MK Stalin. Rahul Gandhi can become the PM of India, provided there is somebody to spend all his time consolidating the INDIA bloc. The one person who has been raising issues and not slogans… What Stalin has done over the past year is to raise every single point that is relevant to federalism in India. Therefore, I believe that he is the best person to become Chairman of the INDIA bloc and he has the great virtue that he won’t stand in the way of Rahul Gandhi becoming the PM.”

#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Mani Shankar Aiyar says, “There is a biography of Dr Ambedkar – A Part Apart. So, that’s the only thing I can say. Mr Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that I am a member of the party. Therefore, I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian but… pic.twitter.com/QOnoAy29Kc

— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2026

The response from Congress

Reactions to Aiyar’s remarks came in a flurry, with party MP KC Venugopal saying, “His statement that the Pinarayi government will continue in Kerala is a personal opinion. It is not the party’s view. Mani Shankar Aiyar is not currently in the Congress party.”

Pawan Khera stated, “Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar has had no connection whatsoever with the Congress for the past few years. He speaks and writes purely in his personal capacity.”

Congress leader and Senior Observer for the Kerala Assembly elections, Sachin Pilot, told ANI, “He is not a part of the Congress Party. I don’t want to comment on it.”

Ramesh Chennithala stated, “His comment on the Kerala government is unwarranted. I don’t know why he has said so. The All India Congress Committee has clarified that he is no longer in the Congress. He is an individual who can say anything.”

Mani Shankar Aiyar is a former Union minister and senior Congress figure who has many times in the past found himself in the midst of political storms over his outspoken commentary on political and international affairs.

His columns, interviews, and public statements have often sparked debate.