Shashi Tharoor's 'I Have Options' Remark Fuels Rumours Of Rift With Congress

There has been a growing speculations over four-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor getting disillusioned with the grand-old party over leadership role for the leader.

The speculations surfaced over Tharoor's recent criticism of a leadership vacuum in Kerala Congress and a recent meeting with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to discuss his role in the party. 

Amid the speculations, the Congress leaders in Kerala have maintained that Tharoor will not quit the party. "I don't believe Tharoor will leave the party or join CPM," KPCC president K Sudhakaran said Sunday. 

Shashi Tharoor has staked a claim for chief ministership if Congress is voted to power in the Kerala assembly elections, scheduled next year, a report in The Times of India said. 

The report said that the Congress leader has asserted that several surveys have ranked him as the most acceptable functionary among Congress stalwarts in state.

I Have Options If You Don't Need Me: Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor has reportedly sent a message to the party that if the Congress does not want his services, he has other things to do.

"If the party wants me then I will be there for the party. If not, I have my own things to do. You should not think that I don't have any option to spend time. I have options. I have my books, speeches, invitations from across the world for talks," Tharoor said while speaking to The Indian Express on 'Varthamanam'.

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The message comes even as the Thiruvananthapuram MP made his party upset by praising the CPM's policies in Kerala and the state's growth. 

Good to see this. Economic development should, as far as possible, be above the petty divisions of party politics. pic.twitter.com/zqTLVCKfWu

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 24, 2025

Shashi Tharoor Praise For PM Modi

Shashi Tharoor recently made headlines after he heaped praise on the Prime Minister for his two-day visit to the United States, saying that the major concerns were addressed during Modi's Washington visit.

"I think that’s a very good outcome because otherwise, the fear was there might be some hasty decisions made in Washington which would have affected our exports. This way, there is time to discuss and negotiate," Tharoor said.

The Congress MP later clarified that his praise for PM Modi's recent meeting with United States President Donald Trump was made in India's broader interest and asserted "we cannot always speak only in terms of party interest".