Essential but inconvenient, is the paradox of shashi tharoor

Last month, a helicopter cut through the sky in Kozhikode, Kerala, carrying the state’s most eloquent political anomaly – Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor quickly rushed to Kochi to the “Future Summit” at Jain University, including VD Satheesan, a member of the parliamentary opposition in Kerala’s parliamentary opposition leaders during the mundane logistics of cars and crowds after the Kerala Literary Festival. It is hard to imagine any other Congress leader accepting this star treatment in Kerala, especially when the party takes office.

This is the Tharoor effect. Whether the listeners have a complete grasp of his squipedalian vocabulary, they will be drowsy. This magnetic attraction leads to delicious irony. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, eighth-term Congressman Kodikunnil Suresh (who once rejected Tharoor as a “guest artist” in Congress), privately bombarded his campaign request. Similarly, in 2023, Chandy Oommen, son of the late Congress son CM Oommen Chandy, sought mediation of the former marriage during the by-election and mediated with the disgruntled church faction.

However, despite all Tharoor’s star powers being trapped in a political paradox. The congressional landscape in Kerala has been dominated by the “A” and “I” factions since the late 1970s, and was later merged around the Oommen Chandy-Ramesh Chennithala Axis. With Chandy’s death, the power structure has shifted to Satheesan-Chennithala’s tug-of-war with little room to bear Tharoor’s ambitions.

His political journey in Kerala was not always unstable. A few years ago, some community-based organizations showed interest in elevating him to a strong position. But the self-inflicted wounds destroyed his prospects. In 2023, he raised an inconsistent, highly perceived remark to Hamas’ speech (a key ally of Congress) at the Kozhikode event held by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), leading to a cautious distance from the party.

His recent article praised Kerala’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for further alienating allies. Even his most determined supporters shrank. They think he celebrated the cherry picking data. Even if he was right, in the vibrant atmosphere of politics in Kerala, people dressed in party parties, Tharoor’s attempts to non-partisan comments attacked many people as a man brought the dictionary to the knives.

His recent approach (which seemed to force him into leadership) faced challenges. After this week’s podcast, a newspaper reported that Tarole spoke about “other avenues, including writing, reading and speaking” if the party did not need his services. Tharoor has since accused the Media House of distorting “harmless statements.”

Despite his protests, his remarks did alert many enthusiastic supporters, especially the party loyalists, who prioritized firm commitments. However, it is undeniable that his credibility among the middle class in Kerala. The paradox lies in Tharoor’s ability to connect with key electoral demographics – youth and women, who apparently lacked organizational influence.

Within the parliament, if the party wins Kerala in the parliamentary poll in 2026, discussions are held in the parliament centered on Satheesan and Chennithala. Satheesan respects his opposition leadership in the current MLA, while Chennithala’s deep community connections and support from the influential Nair Services Association give him an edge. Whispers of some potential dark horses: KC Venugopal, Rahul Gandhi’s top assistant. Although he denied this, many believe that if Satheesan-Chennithala Tussle becomes difficult to manage, he can be a candidate for consensus.

Tarole himself did not make his case easier. More destructive than his recent controversy, he is considered lukewarm to the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, often pointing out that Gandhi’s close accomplices had parted ways with him over the years. This feeling seems to be mutual. Venugopal also doesn’t appreciate Tharoor’s battle with family first-choice candidate Mallikarjun Kharge for Congress president.

Strangely, Tharoor maintains a warm relationship with Sonia Gandhi, as evidenced by his Congressional Working Committee (CWC) members – only AK Antony and KC Venugopal share the difference from Kerala. Even Chennithala and Suresh (the party’s Dalit face) are mere invitations from the CWC.

Currently, Congress may provide comfort to Tharoor. But Tarole himself seems to be reconsidering his political future. He hints at the alternative: He devoted his literary pursuits despite not explicitly announcing his retirement. Excluding joining the BJP – he had to crow the principles of Hintwa politics in an open and private manner, and Tarole also dismissed the CPM, once he never cared about the drunken German (Karl Marx) wrote in the British Library that he had never quipped at private events. His alternatives seem to be limited to writing and speaking, which makes his political future uncertain.

His latest book, A Wonderland of One Word, cleverly takes advantage of his reputation as a vocabulary and ends with more commitments to the future. For a person who likes words, there should definitely be someone who describes his current dilemma: all the charm of leadership without entering the corridors of actual power. Perhaps we should call it tharoorism, an art that is both essential and inconvenient.

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