Is Congress sidelining Shashi Tharoor, or is he making his own moves? From praising Kerala’s Left government to questioning Congress’ strategy, he’s stirring the pot again. I
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00:00Is Shashi Tharoor leaving the Congress Party?
00:07He's a man with a steel spine, the unflinching Shashi Tharoor!
00:11The Congress MP's cosmopolitan style has always made him stand out in a system that's more
00:16attuned to roadside rallies and combative rhetoric.
00:19My life dream is to talk English like you.
00:23Shashi Tharoor is an Englishman.
00:26I know a Hindi proverb, that the chicken of the house is equal to the lentil of the house.
00:30But these days, because of these governments, the cost of living has increased so much
00:35that even the lentil of the house has become equal to the chicken of the house.
00:38In 2025, one year before the assembly elections in Kerala, that gentleman politician label
00:43has once again landed Tharoor in hot water within his own party.
00:46We will tell you why.
00:48I'm Manish Adhikari and you're watching First Things First.
00:50Is he being sidelined by the grand old party now?
00:53I'm seriously examining all the options that are available to me in the present situation.
00:59It sounds like Shashi Tharoor is sending a message loud and clear to the Congress high command.
01:03He's got options and he's not afraid to explore them if he feels sidelined.
01:08The diplomat turned MP has now stirred the pot by praising the CPM led government's policies in Kerala,
01:13a move that seems to have irked his party.
01:15As far as our sources, K.C. Venugopal in fact called just a couple of days back Shashi Tharoor
01:21and reprimanded him for writing that piece wherein he praised left government in Kerala.
01:28In another interview for the Indian Express' Malayalam podcast Vartamanam,
01:31Tharoor highlighted the lack of a strong Congress leader in Kerala,
01:34a state now under left rule for two consecutive terms.
01:37He also praised Kerala's start-up growth, challenging the left-means stagnation narrative.
01:42This essentially puts Congress in a tough spot.
01:44If they can't counter the LDS economic success,
01:46building an anti-incumbency wave before local elections becomes a challenge.
01:50He is a big leader in Kerala, especially in Thiruvananthapuram because he's been elected repeatedly.
01:56And then he said that the Congress needs to really figure out and strategize better.
02:02Just days earlier, his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump
02:07also drew criticism from the party.
02:09I think calling Mr. Modi a better negotiator than himself is astonishing.
02:13Mr. Trump says Mr. Modi is better than him.
02:16So I think we are looking at a very high degree of praise from a man who is not known for saying praiseworthy things.
02:22These soundbites of Tharoor raise the question,
02:24is he laying the groundwork for a future outside the Congress or is he simply being a maverick within?
02:30Either way, it's clear he's not afraid to speak his mind,
02:33and that might just be his biggest strength and the party's biggest challenge.
02:38In many ways, Tharoor's stance is reminiscent of a pop culture anti-hero.
02:44Rebellious and occasionally misunderstood by his own team.
02:47Think Loki from the Marvel Universe.
02:49Part of the group, but never entirely on the same page.
02:54One structural factor that works against free-thinking politicians like Tharoor is the party whip system.
02:59Essentially, a mandate for members to vote along party lines in Parliament.
03:03There are three kinds of whips in Indian Parliament.
03:05A one-line whip just informs members about a vote and lets them abstain.
03:09A two-line whip asks them to be present but doesn't dictate how to vote.
03:13The three-line whip, which is the usual practice now, tells members to show up and vote as per the party's stand.
03:19It's called a three-line whip because it comes with three thick lines under each sentence,
03:23basically a do-as-you're-told order.
03:26It's bad enough that this is the norm inside Parliament,
03:28but even worse, this virtual gag extends even outside, in the daily run of politics.
03:32It's almost blasphemous, therefore, to praise another party,
03:35and Tharoor is known to give in every once in a while.
03:38Our Parliament is the result of that magical exchange of hopes and promises.
03:43A 23-year career as a diplomat in the United Nations,
03:46Tharoor, some say, has been exposed to the ways of Western democracies,
03:49where speaking out of turn as a politician doesn't invite the rap on the knuckles as it does in India.
03:54Not all those who introduce speakers have realised
03:57that the internet might give you credit for things you've never actually done.
04:01Also, a polished accent and a Twitter feed sprinkled with references to Shakespeare or Game of Thrones
04:07might charm the social media-savvy crowd,
04:09but on the ground, perceptions of elitism can be a political curse in a country
04:14where mass appeal hinges on colloquial expression and direct voter connect.
04:22Ultimately, whether Tharoor is a misfit because of his cosmopolitan style
04:25or because the system does not give thinkers enough room to breathe is open to debate.
04:30What's not in question is that Tharoor is a rare breed,
04:34the charming gentleman in an arena that prizes the hardened street fighter.
04:38And in Indian politics, that's both an asset and a liability he's yet to fully overcome.
04:43Tell us what you think about Shashi Tharoor, whether he should stay on in the Congress
04:47or maybe just go on and write more books, offer more lectures maybe,
04:50or join the BJP?
04:53I'm Manish Adhikari, thank you for watching First Things First.