Kerala Congress Chief Refutes Shashi Tharoor’s Claim Of Being Left Out Of Nilambur Bypoll Campaign

The ongoing friction between the Congress party and Shashi Tharoor continued on Friday, as the party's Kerala unit chief appeared to counter the MP's recent remarks regarding a state assembly by-election.

According to an India Today report, Kerala Congress president Sunny Joseph stated that Tharoor's name had indeed featured on the official list of star campaigners for the Nilambur bypoll.

Photo Credit: PTI

"We had officially published the list and submitted it to the Election Commission. It included Shashi Tharoor's name. He was abroad most of the time, and then in Delhi. I don't know if he even came to Kerala," Sunny Joseph said. "I have nothing more to say about this," he added.

Joseph also pointed out that all other senior leaders had participated in the campaign, apart from AK Antony.

He named leaders such as Ramesh Chennithala and Kodikunnil Suresh, who had joined the campaign in support of party candidate Aryadan Shoukath.

His comments came a day after the Thiruvananthapuram MP told reporters that he had not been asked to take part in the Nilambur campaign.

"I wasn't invited by the party. But that's alright," Tharoor said, explaining that he had been away on an official diplomatic tour abroad for most of the campaign period.

He added that there was little urgency shown by the leadership even after his return.

"When I came back there was no insistence, no missed call from the leadership saying I should come," he added with a smile.

Tharoor, on Thursday, once again played down speculation of a rift with the Congress high command, though he did acknowledge "some differences".

He had just returned from a diplomatic tour covering five nations as part of an all-party delegation, which included meetings in the United States following Operation Sindoor.

During this tour, Tharoor's remarks praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi attracted criticism from within his own party, particularly for failing to reference similar strikes carried out during the UPA era.