By Admin 
Ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that he is not a possible contender for the post of Chief Minister, as he is not contesting this election. He believes that ideally the Chief Minister should be selected from among the elected MLAs.
On Thursday (March 19, 2026), Shashi Tharoor, in an exclusive interview to PTI, said that he will not contest the assembly elections, so he does not need to worry about any particular assembly constituency, and his role in the state elections is mixed. He said that he is eagerly waiting to go to every corner of the state for election campaign.
Shashi Tharoor also referred to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s recent advice, in which he had symbolically asked the leaders of the Congress-led UDF alliance to ‘work in unison’. Shashi Tharoor said that it was a good message, and now everyone is working with one rhythm.
Shashi Tharoor also said that although he would be happy if Congress gets majority in Kerala, a figure of between 85 to 100 seats would be quite good for the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 140-member assembly.
Using cricket terminology, Shashi Tharoor said the UDF is bowling googly balls, especially against the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), because they are on difficult pitches, and we can catch them.
Shashi Tharoor also said that as the elections are becoming more presidential-style, he is personally in favor of putting forward a possible chief ministerial face before the elections. He also said that Congress in Kerala has the ability to give good election results on the basis of an agenda, a mission and also the election symbol of the party, rather than any one person or name.
When asked whether not having any face in the election campaign could affect the Congress’s chances against the LDF as the ruling alliance has a face in sitting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Shashi Tharoor said, ‘Personally, I agree with you; I mean, we could have taken that route, but as the party leadership told me, Congress has never done that before.
Shashi Tharoor said, ‘They have adopted this approach that elections are for the party, and once the party wins, it chooses its leader. What this actually means is that the high command will choose the leader after consulting the elected MLAs.
He said, ‘Congress has very deep penetration in the state. His words are listened to very seriously throughout Kerala. He has his presence in every locality, every village and every ward. That is why Congress has the ability to give good results on the basis of an agenda, a mission and the election symbol of the party, rather than the face or name of any one person.
Shashi Tharoor said that it is not necessary that the same principle be adopted everywhere. He said that now just as Gaurav Gogoi is clearly the face of the party in Assam, there are such leaders in other states also. He said, ‘But in Kerala we are going to fight like this (without declaring a face) and because of our strength in Kerala, I think this is a state where we will probably win like this.’
When he was directly asked whether he was a possible contender for the post of Chief Minister, Shashi Tharoor said, ‘No, I am not. There are many good reasons for this, including the fact that I am not contesting the elections myself. I believe that ideally the Chief Minister should be selected from among the elected MLAs only.
Referring to the voting schedule in the state, he said, ‘It is quite shocking that voting is being held on April 9, especially when it itself was announced quite late on March 15. Basically, the Election Commission has given us about three weeks to campaign. Most of the parties have not even declared the names of all their candidates yet. The nominations are to be submitted by Monday and suddenly, these candidates are going to face the voters on April 9.
Shashi Tharoor alleged that it appears that all this has been done deliberately to benefit the current governments of CPI(M) in Kerala, BJP in Assam and local party governments in Puducherry; These are the three states where voting is to be held on April 9.
Expressing confidence of UDF’s victory in the Kerala Assembly elections, Shashi Tharoor said that there is a 10-year anti-incumbency wave against the LDF government. He said, ‘It has had huge failures, economic crisis, corruption scandals and all kinds of problems due to which voters have turned away from the current government.’
When asked whether all his issues had been resolved after his meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi a few weeks ago, Shashi Tharoor said, ‘My issues basically do not matter to the state. I am not a candidate in the state elections. It was mostly a question of working together as a team and I am completely a part of this team. Actually, I am the co-chairman of the campaign committee.
Regarding his role in these elections, Shashi Tharoor said, ‘Even while participating in the Parliament session, I am attending regular online meetings with other members of the campaign committee. I am leaving the last few weeks of the Parliament session and going to Kerala.
He said that he will remain there till the voting and there is a possibility of his stay in all the 14 districts of the state. Describing Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Kerala as good, the Congress MP said that Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had given a memorable speech in Thiruvananthapuram.
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