Why Does Shashi Tharoor Keep Skipping Congress Meetings? Growing Rift or Mere Coincidence?
New Delhi: Speculation about a rift between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and the party leadership has intensified as the Thiruvananthapuram MP continues to miss key party meetings. Amid reports of his increasing proximity to the BJP and occasional praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, new incidents of friction seem to surface every few days. Although Tharoor has repeatedly denied any discord, his absence from yet another crucial meeting has raised eyebrows within the party.
On Friday morning, Rahul Gandhi chaired a review meeting with Congress’s 99 Lok Sabha MPs. The meeting aimed to assess their performance so far and to sharpen the party’s attacks on the BJP ahead of the Parliament Winter Session’s conclusion on December 19. Tharoor’s absence was notable—this marks the third Congress meeting he has skipped in the past three weeks. Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari was also absent.
Congress’s Chief Whip stated that he was unaware of any reason for Tharoor’s absence, which only fueled further speculation about an internal rift.
A Pattern of Absences
Tharoor had earlier missed two meetings in November:
30 November: A strategy meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi, similar to the session in August 2020 when Tharoor and 22 other Congress leaders questioned Sonia Gandhi’s leadership. At the time, Tharoor clarified that he had not intentionally skipped the meeting—he was flying from Kerala, and his office later confirmed that he and his 90-year-old mother were on a rescheduled flight to Delhi.
18 November: A meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the party’s opposition to the contentious Special Intensive Revision (voter re-verification) process. Tharoor cited ill health for his absence. Notably, just a day earlier, he had attended a private event where PM Modi delivered a speech—one that Tharoor publicly praised in a tweet, inviting fresh controversy.
With Tharoor repeatedly missing key strategy sessions and his recent statements appearing increasingly conciliatory towards the government, Congress circles are abuzz with questions:
Is it mere coincidence, scheduling conflicts, or signs of a deeper realignment?
For now, Tharoor insists there is no rift. But his recurring absences continue to tell a story the Congress leadership cannot ignore.
