- By Shubham Bajpai
- Fri, 23 Jan 2026 01:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Tensions between Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Congress are rising as he is set to skip a key party meeting on Friday over being insulted at a Mahapanchayat event in Kochi, where Rahul Gandhi was present.
The meeting, called by the Congress high command, is set to take place at 2:30 PM to discuss the party's strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala.
Reportedly, Tharoor was told at the Kochi event that only Gandhi would speak after him, but some other leaders also spoke after him. Given Tharoor's seniority, the arrangement did not go well with the Thiruvananthapuram MP.
He was dissatisfied with the speaking order. Moreover, in his address, Gandhi omitted Tharoor's name, and the lack of acknowledgement also stirred resentment among Tharoor.
The four-time Congress MP is expected to visit the Kerala Literature Festival today instead. So far, no official statement has been issued by the Congress party regarding Tharoor's decision to skip the key meeting on Kerala elections.
For over eight months, Tharoor has been making headlines over an alleged rift with his party. The speculations gained momentum in the wake of Operation Sindoor, when he was named as the head of an all-party outreach delegation, without being suggested by the Congress.
In fact, all the names proposed by Congress were dashed by the Centre. Tharoor had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for handling the Pahalgam terror attack and had backed the government over military action against Pakistan.
His birthday wish for LK Advani and subsequent defence of him by drawing parallels with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had also triggered resentment among many critics.
In a recent post, he lauded the Indian men's cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir, calling him "the man with the hardest job in India after the PM's".