- 8 minutes ago
On this Special Report, Maria Shakeel examines the deepening internal friction within the Congress party in Kerala ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The focus is on Thiruvananthapuram MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who reportedly skipped a crucial strategy meeting attended by Rahul Gandhi. Maria Shakeel notes, 'Tharoor skipped the Congress High Command's Kerala strategy meet altogether, reportedly upset with both the party leadership over what is seen as lack of due respect by Rahul Gandhi.' The programme features veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who downplays the rift, claiming Tharoor had prior commitments at a literary forum. However, the report highlights past instances where Tharoor’s praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LK Advani caused friction with the party brass. The discussion, featuring Shehzad Poonawalla and Sanjay Jha, explores whether the Congress can afford to alienate a prominent face like Tharoor as the BJP gains ground in urban Kerala, particularly following their performance in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation elections.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille, as Kerala moves towards
00:06a high-stakes 2026 Assembly elections, deepening cracks inside the Congress are coming sharply
00:13into focus and at the centre of this is a Member of Parliament who is currently serving
00:18his fourth consecutive term from Triru Vanantpuram, Dr. Shashi Tharoor.
00:24He is not, or should I say, this is not a sudden fallout, viewers, it's a slow-burning rift.
00:30He has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past and now, according to sources,
00:34he gave priority to the Prime Minister's Kerala visit over his own party's election meeting.
00:41Tharoor skipped the Congress High Command's Kerala strategy meet altogether, reportedly upset
00:47with both the party leadership over what is seen as lack of due respect by Rahul Gandhi.
00:55But with the BJP rising in urban Kerala, we have seen the complete upheaval which happened
01:01in Triru Vanantpuram Municipal Corporation elections.
01:06The big question is, can the Congress afford to alienate one of its most recognisable faces
01:12in this do-or-die battle for electoral survival?
01:16First up the story and then I bring in our big news maker from Kerala, Ramesh Chanitala.
01:32A four-time MP, a seasoned Congress face.
01:36Now, openly uncomfortable with the top brass.
01:42As Kerala heads towards the high-stakes 2026 battle, cracks are widening within the Congress.
01:49And this rift is not new.
01:52Tharoor versus the Grand Old Party.
01:56From praising the Prime Minister in the past to now sources suggesting
02:00he had to give precedence to the Prime Minister's Kerala visit over Congress' own poll meeting.
02:06He is reportedly miffed with both the state leadership and the central command.
02:13The flashpoint?
02:14The Kochi Maha Panchayat episode.
02:16Sources say protocol was breached, sitting was altered, speaker order changed at the last minute.
02:23And Rahul Gandhi did not publicly acknowledge Tharoor.
02:27Supporters say his seniority was ignored.
02:29But this friction goes back months.
02:33Recently in November, he praised LK Advani while wishing him on his birthday,
02:37forcing the Congress to distance itself.
02:40Earlier in August, he backed a bill allowing removal of PMs and CMs.
02:44Congress called it draconian.
02:46In July 2025, Tharoor called the emergency a dark chapter, drawing party criticism.
02:52Furthermore, there have been repeated movements where Tharoor praised Prime Minister himself.
02:59Now with Kerala a do-or-die election for the Congress, the question is stark.
03:05Can the party afford to sideline a leader, popularly known as Vishwapurran,
03:10a global citizen in the state, at a time when the BJP is rising in urban Kerala?
03:15Because in Kerala, this isn't just about ego.
03:45It's about electoral survival.
03:49Bureau Report, India Today.
03:56And joining me now is veteran Congress leader from Kerala, Mr. Ramesh Chenithala.
04:02Mr. Chenithala, thank you for speaking to India Today.
04:05We saw perhaps the most scathing attack yet by Prime Minister Modi
04:09against both the LDF and the UDF.
04:12Are we then looking at Kerala's first truly three-cornered fight in 2026?
04:18Not at all.
04:23There is no BJP in Kerala.
04:25They had won a corporation, that's all.
04:28That is a...
04:29And in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly,
04:34they have not opened their account till now.
04:36Only once Mr. O. Rajagopar, he was a senior political leader in Kerala,
04:41has got elected in the name of BJP.
04:45After that, they had not won any election in the Assembly or Parliament.
04:49So, this time also, I don't feel that BJP will not play any major role in the Kerala Assembly election.
04:56You say that BJP won't play a major role.
04:59BJP isn't a factor.
05:00But only a month ago, the BJP won the Thiruvananthpuram Corporation polls,
05:05which was certainly historic.
05:07Are you not worried that a resurgent BJP will make this a left versus right battle
05:13and the Congress then stands to lose out on the anti-incumbency votes?
05:17See that Congress is going to win this Assembly election with a good margin.
05:26Look at the Parliament election.
05:28We won 18 out of 20 seats.
05:31And also, in all the by-elections, Congress-led UDF has won the election.
05:37And in the recently concluded Panjshayat election, UDF has got a spectacular victory.
05:46And BJP only got the, it became the largest party in the Thiruvananthpuram Corporation.
05:54That's all.
05:56And they are not won any of the district Panjshayat.
06:00Only one district Panjshayat, they got a member.
06:02One member in the district Panjshayat.
06:04And last time when they won two municipal parties, that also they lost.
06:09So, I don't think that BJP will be a factor in the ensuing Assembly elections.
06:15Okay.
06:15So, let's talk about what's happening within the Congress party.
06:19And this is with regards to the state Congress, the state Kerala Congress.
06:23How do you, or what should I ask you, what do you make of your party colleague and Thiruvananthpuram MP,
06:31Mr. Tharoor's decision to skip such a critical party meeting,
06:35which was attended by all of you, including you, because you are joining me from Delhi.
06:42Mr. Shashi Tharoor had a program in Calicut.
06:48It's a Kerala literary forum program.
06:52He has fixed it much earlier.
06:54That is why he couldn't attend this today's important meeting.
06:58He has already told all of us.
07:00And there is no confusion.
07:02Okay.
07:03He is a Congress MP.
07:06He continued to do that.
07:08He was in our camp in Wainar for the last two days.
07:13And he attended the meeting of Sri Rahul Gandhi in Cochin.
07:19So, he is a part and parcel of Congress party.
07:22There is no confusion for all of us.
07:25Okay.
07:25So, you say that he is part and parcel, that there is no issue whatsoever.
07:30But the question is, can the Congress afford to leave Dr. Tharoor disgruntled,
07:36particularly at a time when the state is going to polls, in less than two months perhaps?
07:44See that Mr. Tharoor, Tharoor is a full-time member of Congress party.
07:48We have full faith on him.
07:49But he is, you know, he is not a full-time politician.
07:54He has got his own opinion on various issues.
07:57But basically, he is a congressman and he adhered to the principles of Congress party.
08:05Mr. Chanitana, you are a dyed-in-the-wool Congress leader.
08:08Can the internal factionalism damage the Congress prospects?
08:13Is there a fear in the Congress, within the Congress?
08:16No, we are not, you know, Congress party never projected anybody as a chief minister, can't it?
08:24Here in Kerala also, we are not going to project anybody.
08:28After the election, the party high command will decide the chief minister.
08:33So, that is our system, which we are following for a long time.
08:37This time also, we will continue to do that.
08:39I think that the people of Kerala will be going to give us a decisive mandate in the ensuing assembly election.
08:49Okay, so, you are saying that the Congress won't announce Dr. Tharoor or anyone as the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the poll, sir?
08:58Correct me.
08:58No, no, no, no, no.
09:02You know that it is a practice that in the Congress parties that we will not announce any chief ministerial candidate much in advance.
09:14This is our tradition.
09:16So, in this case also, in Kerala, we are not going to announce anybody as a chief ministerial candidate.
09:22Yes, there are so many important leaders in Kerala, but we are not going to announce anybody.
09:27Okay, my last question to you, Mr. Chanetala, how are you looking at this battle for 2026?
09:32How will it, how tough is it for the Congress, for your party?
09:39At 2026, without no doubt, I can tell you that the Congress-led UDF will form the government in Trivandrum in Kerala with a comfortable majority.
09:50Because if you see this track record of last five years, we won all the by-elections, except one, which is always having with CPM.
10:00And we won the parliament election, and also we won the, we won, we had a spectacular victory in the last Panjaita election, which never happened, only once in 2010.
10:14So, all these election victories are confirming our victory in the assembly election in 2026.
10:24All right, Ramesh Chanetala, I appreciate your time.
10:29Thank you for joining us here on India Today.
10:32Let me bring in Shahzad Poonawala, National Spokesperson of the BJP.
10:36Also joining me shortly would be Sanjay Jha, Political Analyst.
10:39Shahzad Poonawala, Ramesh Chanetala, who's a senior Congress leader,
10:44has certainly said that Mr. Tharoor had taken the permission from the Congress leadership,
10:51and that's the reason why he was not there in the meeting today.
10:55Then why is the BJP fishing in troubled waters?
10:59When, or should I say there are no troubled waters at all?
11:03You're hoping for trouble?
11:04There was no trouble between DK Shiv Kumar and Siddhra Maiya.
11:11There was no trouble between Sukhu Ji and Pratiba Singh Ji.
11:15There was no trouble between DKS and Siddha.
11:18There was no trouble between Amrinder Singh Ji and Siddhu Ji.
11:21There was no trouble between Gayloth and Pilate Ji.
11:24There was no trouble between Gayloth and Pilate Ji.
11:26All is well.
11:27But only thing, Maria, you know, I come prepared with my facts.
11:30You have to do the Raja Di Poonawarosa, you have to do the 9 o'clock anchor.
11:34Tharoor admits to rift with Congress on Rajdeep Sardesai's show, 19 June 2025.
11:39Chalye, India Today group pe bhi bharosa ho ga hi, Maria, aapko.
11:4226 February 2025, exclusive report of India Today, Shashi Tharoor exploring options.
11:48Anyway, Maria, you have to do the work.
11:51I have been in Congress.
11:52So I'll just give you two things from what I know about Congress.
11:55Congress, and particularly Rahul Gandhi, can't stand anybody who puts nation first.
11:59So when Shashi Tharoor put nation first in Operation Sindhu,
12:02and when he wished LK Advani Ji, that time only Congress started abusing him, sidelining
12:08him, to the extent that Mr. Muddhi Dharan of the Kerala Congress said that we will not
12:12invite him for any party events.
12:14I wish Sanjay Jha was here because all these facts are important for him to know, because
12:17he lives in another Delulu.
12:19But now, second point, Maria, the extent of the division in Congress is so high.
12:23And take it from me, I have hundreds of people in Congress who report to me or tell me every
12:28day that even Rahul and Priyanka...
12:31Sanjay Jha has joined us.
12:32So yes, let's put him on the screen as well.
12:34Yes, please go ahead.
12:35Please put him on the screen.
12:36I hope he has not missed the barrage of facts of Muddhi Dharan Rajdeep and India Today that
12:40I have quoted.
12:41But having said that, just last two points.
12:44The fight is so intense between Rahul and Priyanka camps that someday Imran Masood says
12:50this and he sacked from the Congress.
12:55But I have one proposal.
12:56Sanjay Jha, who's in suspended animation from a long time, Maria, I propose India Today
13:01to make a board of peace headed by Sanjay Jha and he can get all the warring factions
13:07of Congress on that board of peace.
13:10And they all have to contribute 100 rupees.
13:12They will not have one billion dollars, etc.
13:14So they will contribute 100 rupees.
13:17Sanjay Jha will be the chairman of board of peace.
13:19One side, there will be Mr. Shashi Tharoor.
13:22Other side, there will be Mr. Muddhi Dharan.
13:25One side, there will be DKS.
13:27Other side, there will be Sidhar Mahiya.
13:29So I propose this from my age.
13:32Jha, do you want to respond to that?
13:35You know, the fact is that Dr. Tharoor is the most recognizable face of the Congress
13:40party in Kerala.
13:42And why is the Congress leadership not ready to give him a responsibility that he is ready
13:48for?
13:49Well, Maria, good evening to you and to my friend Shahzad.
13:53Shahzad has been a friend of mine once upon a time.
13:56And now he comes on TV shows and gets...
13:59No, you get very acrimonious.
14:00You can be friends, you know, despite being in opposite parties.
14:03Well, if I can just finish, I believe there are times he gets insufferably acrimonious and
14:10bitter.
14:11He was never like that.
14:13And I'm going to just tell him because he's spoken rather candidly on your program.
14:17I do think that he's at heart a decent man in a terribly lousy, toxic political party.
14:23He's a misfit there.
14:25And at some point, I think the Congress will come back.
14:28And if I know Shahzad Puna will, he will return as well.
14:31So, Shahzad, I'm just putting it out in the public space.
14:34You are a misfit in the BJP.
14:36I think you're force fitting yourself into a party that is blatantly bigot, bigotry at
14:42its core.
14:44And I don't think...
14:44Hey, Baba, you fit Tharoor in your party.
14:46Forget my fitting.
14:47No, I wanted to, Maria, put this at the very beginning.
14:50No, no, I wanted to put this at the very beginning because, Shahzad, I have been with you on public
14:55platforms and you were more critical of Mr. Modi and Shah than I was.
15:00But anyway, Maria, let's go back to Sashi's issue.
15:02I think as far as Sashi's issue is concerned, it's not very complicated.
15:06There are two aspects here.
15:08Number one, that Sashi has always been an extraordinary parliamentarian.
15:13You will agree with me, even Puna Wala will agree with me, that end of day where Sashi is
15:19concerned, he's an intellectual heavyweight, he's academically brilliant, he's an outstanding
15:25speaker, and he's probably one of India's best exports in soft power.
15:30Now, the truth is, he would be a misfit in any political party.
15:34Now, I can tell you, I have been part of the Congress.
15:36Shahzad has been part of the Congress.
15:38And Sashi is part of the Congress.
15:41And in any political party where there is a person who is quite a distinctive outlier,
15:46you will find there will always be chronic and, I would say, recurring issues where somebody
15:52will say, you're not doing the party line.
15:54For all the reasons that you just mentioned, of his, you know, the sheer stature of Dr.
16:00Shashi Tharoor, shouldn't the Congress value him more?
16:03Well, you know, let me tell you something that I have been in politics for a long time.
16:09And I know that the Congress got very upset with me when I called a spade a spade and
16:13I wrote an article in the Times of India.
16:15Now, I haven't carried any bitterness about it in my heart.
16:19A lot of people ask me, why didn't you shift?
16:22And why haven't you been, you know, overtly or covertly hostile?
16:26And I told myself, hang on, I'm ideologically compatible with the party from A to Z.
16:33And, Maria, there are misunderstandings that happen.
16:36I believe given the structure or the Congress parties overall, I wouldn't say they're illiberal.
16:41They're very conservative.
16:43And therefore, they found my conversations probably breaching a certain protocol.
16:49I don't agree with it.
16:50I wouldn't do that.
16:51But the party thought it appropriate.
16:52That's their call.
16:53Now, my simple answer is where Shashi is concerned.
16:56I think Shashi and Congress are just going through this phase.
17:00And I think it happens in many relationships as well, where I can't do with you and I can't
17:05do without you.
17:06And I think that's a simple problem.
17:08And this is really something that we have seen Prime Minister actually do in other states
17:13as well.
17:14Beyond politics, Prime Minister Modi actually waited and personally received a Kerala Chief
17:18Minister on stage at the program today.
17:21We are putting out those visuals.
17:23So, you know, for all the criticism that we have seen, Prime Minister waiting for Kerala
17:28Chief Minister and receiving him at this stage, something which is about cooperative federalism,
17:35something which is certainly a good tradition in Indian politics.
17:38Just look at those visuals.
17:40You know, amidst the political war, this is what we are seeing, a heartfelt gesture where
17:46the Prime Minister goes out to welcome Pinaray Vijayan, the Chief Minister.
17:51And we have seen that outreach happen at multiple levels as well.
17:55So, you know, Shahzad Poonawalla, we have seen multiple states where there is a lot of anguish,
18:03particularly in the run-up to the elections.
18:05What happens, say, in other states, number of states, I'm not going to name them.
18:10But here is a very welcome gesture, something that we see not much, but something which Prime
18:18Minister Modi in particular always extends.
18:19But, Maria, why are you surprised?
18:22And since you cover the government and you cover politics so deeply, you would know that
18:27the only government to give the Bharat Ratna or the Pradma awards to political rivals has
18:32been the BJP.
18:34In fact, whether it's Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji, whether it's Tarun Gogoi Ji, whether it's
18:37SC Jameer Ji, in fact, then you have Congress, which did not even give the proper Bharat Ratna
18:43to Ambedkar Ji or to Sardar Patel Ji on time.
18:46And here we have given it to people like Narsimha Rao Ji, who was not our Prime Minister
18:50or our party's Prime Minister.
18:52So, therefore, this is the difference between the two.
18:54Now, I am very glad that my dear elder brother Sanjay Jha, who himself has not been able
18:58to fit back into Congress, despite taking the Congress's stand so much, is worried about
19:03me being misfit in BJP.
19:05But, Sanjay, forget about my fitting and misfitting.
19:07I have only two limited questions.
19:09You have extolled Shashi Taruriya said, brilliant, academic, best, soft power export.
19:15But, Sandeep Dixit has said he's irrelevant.
19:18In the show's package, Sandeep Dixit has said he's irrelevant.
19:23Secondly, Mr. Jha has said that this is outlier.
19:25No, Mr. Jha.
19:27Anybody who has talent, merit and puts nation or party before the Pariwaad, they get the
19:33same fate.
19:34You take your own example.
19:35You put party before Pariwaad, you suspend, Abhidi suspend.
19:38I put party before Pariwaad, I was thrown out.
19:42Shashi Tharoor puts nation before Pariwaad, he's abused and heckled.
19:46And series of leaders who have been treated like this.
19:49So, Sanjay, this is not outlier.
19:51This is how Congress's Kabila mindset operates.
19:54And therefore, I request you with folded hands, a board of peace bana do.
19:57And then you can probably have peace between the warring factions.
20:01Now, Rahul and Priyanka also had war.
20:03So, you have to take peace to them also.
20:05So, who will solve this problem?
20:08You know, Maria, let me tell you, I think there is no denying that when the party has
20:12not been faring well in elections, setbacks happen, you know, many people have left the
20:17party.
20:18Nobody's going to deny it.
20:19I'm not living in a fool's paradise.
20:21Neither are you, neither is Shahzad.
20:23When you're winning, everything looks good.
20:24When you're struggling, you know, the problems just kind of magnify or get amplified.
20:29I think the Congress, yes, has a challenge.
20:31It needs to get its good flock back together.
20:34He needs to fight as a unit.
20:36I'm not going to deny that.
20:37But where Kerala and Sashi is concerned, please do try and understand this one point.
20:42That when you have a man who is coming from a state where he's won four MP elections back
20:48to back, he's been remarkably electorally a massive asset for the Congress party through
20:54difficult times.
20:55So, Sanjay Jha, you and Shahzad Poonawala are in complete agreement here.
21:00Yeah, but I want to make a point here where Kerala is concerned.
21:03Shahzad, just one sec.
21:04Where Kerala is concerned, the Congress knows it is batting on a front foot.
21:08The Congress, I believe, has a great opportunity to win the same battle.
21:11You know, every time the Congress has that kind of confidence, we saw that play out also
21:15in Haryana, where the Congress thought that they are just there at the power.
21:21Just, you know, one more shot and they'll be at the power.
21:24And we saw the results.
21:24So, whenever we are overconfident, we have seen what happens, because it is internal divisions
21:29which play out.
21:31No, no, I agree with you.
21:32I was going to mention that, actually, that the Congress should not be complacent given
21:37the adverse, surprising setbacks it received over the course of the last year.
21:42So, my simple point would be that there are enough stakeholders looking for a share of
21:46the pie in Kerala.
21:48Sashi is one of them.
21:50It's competitive.
21:50And, therefore, to that extent, it's going to be a problem of plenty, but the Congress
21:55will have to handle it intelligently.
21:56I agree with that.
21:58Okay.
21:58Just one last.
21:59Khiazad Poonawala, go ahead.
22:01See, Sanjay is trying his best, but he's being as candid and honest, and I appreciate that.
22:06But, Sanjay, when Tharoorji was on the stage in this Maha Panchayat, where this Maha Youth
22:10happened, Rahul Gandhi did not take his name, and Rahul Gandhi shook hands with everybody,
22:16but did not shake hands with him.
22:17Now, the only reason to trigger this is two.
22:20One, that Mr. Shashi Tharoor had recently wished LK Advani Ji, and then he had said that
22:25Prime Minister of any country or foreign policy should be respected, because it's India's
22:29foreign policy, India's Prime Minister.
22:30And, secondly, he had contradicted what Rahul Gandhi was spewing lies about Operation Sindhu.
22:34Now, whatever may be the case, in political and public life, imagine that you even have
22:39a difference with me, you will still acknowledge me.
22:42Here, as a four-time MP, you are giving him so many adjectives.
22:46And Rahul Gandhi, this petty-minded person, does not even shake his hand and take his name.
22:51And this is Tharoor, who has considerable following amongst the middle class and various sections
22:56of society.
22:56Well, I can tell you one thing, Shahzad, and to Maria and to the viewers of your program,
23:02that I think there's enormous respect.
23:04I don't think Shashi really needs any kind of, shall we say, buttressing of his credentials
23:10by anybody, not even anybody in the Congress Party.
23:14I think the bottom line is simply this.
23:15And I saw that stage encounter that you're talking about.
23:18Rahul and actually, Shashi did make eye contact.
23:21And, Shahzad, let me also tell you that you know it.
23:24I mean, when you go on a public platform where there are, you know, senior people in politics,
23:29everyone is trying to kind of elbow the other person for a little attention and a handshake
23:34and a photo.
23:35I don't attach, for some reason, personally, I don't attach too much importance to that.
23:40Seriously.
23:41Sanjay, we certainly know that that's not how it happens, particularly with senior leaders.
23:46And here is a senior leader with whom Rahul Gandhi has had disagreement.
23:52The Congress was pretty public about the fact that they do not want Dr. Tharoor to lead
23:58a delegation which went, all-party delegations which went to multiple countries after Operation
24:04Sindhu's success.
24:05So, you know, there has been disagreements and those disagreements have been playing out
24:08in full public view.
24:10But the bigger challenge for the Congress Party is that can they afford these rumblings
24:15to have, particularly in the run-up to the election, an election that is as crucial for
24:21their own survival in Kerala?
24:23That's the big question.
24:24Perhaps the Congress must answer that.
24:26So, thank you for joining us, Shahzad Poonawala and Sanjay Jha on this broadcast.
24:31That's all from me.
24:33We are putting this out on our website and also on the YouTube channel.
24:37Thanks so much for watching.
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