‘All is good, we are on same page’: Tharoor after meeting Kharge-Rahul

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, assuring alignment with the leadership amid earlier reports of discontent, and clarified he has no interest in a Kerala chief ministerial candidacy

New Delhi: Amid reports that he was upset with his party, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and said “all is good” and he is on the “same page” with the leadership.

The meeting in Kharge’s chamber in Parliament House complex lasted for over an hour. Sources said Congress general secretary K C Venugopal also joined the meeting.

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“We had a discussion with my two party leaders, the LoP and the Congress president. We had a very good, constructive, positive discussion,” Tharoor said.

“All is good and we are moving together on the same page, what more can I say,” he told reporters in Parliament premises after the meeting.

Asked if the issue of chief ministerial face for Kerala polls was discussed, Tharoor said that was never the issue.

“I am not interested in being the candidate for anything. At the moment I am already an MP, I have the trust of my voters from Thiruvananthapuram. I have their interest to look after in Parliament, that is my job,” he said.

Tharoor said he was satisfied with the meeting with the top Congress brass.

Last week, Tharoor had skipped a key strategy meeting of the party for the upcoming Kerala polls as he was believed to be upset over Rahul Gandhi not properly acknowledging his presence at a recent event and repeated attempts by state leaders to “sideline” him.

Sources close to him had then said that while a series of events had led to Tharoor’s disappointment with the treatment meted out to him, the tipping point was Gandhi not acknowledging him at the ‘Maha Panchayath’ held in Kochi on January 19 to felicitate the local body poll winners.

Gandhi acknowledged other senior leaders present on the stage and took their names but did not mention Tharoor, a four-time MP and one of the three Congress Working Committee (CWC) members from the state, who was also on the dais, the sources said.

A row had erupted last year over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach after the Pahalgam attack. His comments were at variance with the Congress’ stand and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.

Tharoor has, however, maintained that there is no variance in stance on foreign policy and there must be bipartisanship.

Kharge on Friday chaired a key meeting of the party here with Kerala leaders to fine-tune the party strategy for the assembly polls.