Three years ago, in this very column titled “Tharoor for 2026”, this writer had asked: “Who will win the cup in the contest between Shashi Tharoor and the state Congress leadership?” The answer then leaned decisively towards Tharoor. His rising popularity among the most influential sections of Kerala’s social and political spectrum, fed up as they were with the uninspiring faces they see across parties, suggested that he might well emerge as the UDF’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2026 Assembly election.

With barely five months left, this writer stands corrected. Today, the chance of Tharoor becoming the UDF’s chief ministerial face appears close to zero.

In 2006, a powerful bloc led by the United States reportedly contributed to Tharoor’s failure to become UN Secretary-General. This time, the forces that have ended his prospects of leading his home state come not from outside but from within — and predominantly from himself. The dazzling career the diplomat-turned-politician and acclaimed author built is entirely his own creation: intellect, talent, discipline, and global stature. Yet the political wilderness he is in today is also largely self-created.

The four-time Congress MP — arguably its most recognisable national face — now seems unwanted within his own organisation. The BJP, which once showed active interest in absorbing him, no longer appears too keen. The Muslim League’s enthusiasm, earlier one of his most decisive sources of support, has cooled. Even many Congress leaders who privately admired Tharoor have faded away.

The earlier optimism about Tharoor’s chief ministerial chances came in the immediate aftermath of his 2022 defeat in the Congress presidential election against Mallikarjun Kharge. Though Kharge, the Gandhi family–favoured candidate, won with 84.14% of AICC delegates’ votes, Tharoor’s 11.4% (1,072 votes) was significant. It came on the heels of his association with the G23 group, which had demanded internal elections and reforms. Several in that group — Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal among them — would eventually leave the party. Tharoor did not.

Despite challenging the leadership, despite losing, and despite being marked as a “rebel”, Tharoor........

© Mathrubhumi English