What is likely ? Shashi Tharoor may become a communist or a BJP man ? :::: Will Congress lose out another good hand ??

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the Congress must expand its base in Kerala to attract new voters and highlighted the absence of a leader in the party's state unit.

On Saturday, Feb 22, four-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared a quote from English poet Thomas Gray's poem, 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College' on twitter or X.

"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." He captioned the post as, "Thought of the day." 

There was a big message. 

Amid an ongoing controversy over his recent remarks praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala, Tharoor said while he was (would be) available for his party, he also had "options" if it did not require his services. 

Speaking at a Malayalam podcast, Tharoor, however, refuted rumours of switching parties, saying he did not believe so even if there was a difference in opinions.  

Tharoor's remarks assumed significance as he earlier praised the Marxist government's policies in Kerala and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meeting US President Donald Trump in the US.

These gestures have not been taken very kindly/ or well by the Congress.

During the podcast interview, Tharoor reacted to the controversy and said he never thought of himself as a politician and that he had "narrow political thoughts".

He said the Congress must expand its base in Kerala to attract new voters and highlighted the absence of a leader in the party's state unit.

The 67-year-old leader claimed that other Congress leaders backed him for his views.

He cited opinion polls conducted by independent organisations that showed him being ahead of others in leadership stakes in the state. 

This is an interesting development as assembly polls are due next year along with Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.  

Tharoor is  the longest serving Member of Parliament representing the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. He has been elected consecutively on four occasions- 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.  

Last year he faced a tough fight against BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Tharoor polled 3,58,155 votes making it 37.19 pe cent of votes polled. But he suffered a decrease of 4 per cent of vote share. For his part Chandrasekhar saw an increase in vote (for BJP nominee) by 4.22 percent and polled 342,078  votes making it 35.52 per cent.

Tharoor had fought against Congress president Malikarjun Kharge in his attempt to lead India's grand old party but his efforts did not yield expected result.