The rift between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress leadership is widening, fuelling speculation about his future in the party. Tharoor, a four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has expressed interest in becoming Kerala's chief minister, according to sources. 

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This development comes amid reports of Tharoor facing backlash from Congress leaders for praising PM Modi and the Kerala LDF government's industrial policy.

According to the Hindustan Times, this situation puts the Congress high command in a difficult position, as they navigate the potential consequences of losing a prominent figure like Tharoor ahead of crucial state elections.

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Tharoor with BJP's Piyush Goyal

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's latest post on X, where he can be seen posing for a selfie with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Secretary of State for Trade Jonathan Reynold, further sparked the ongoing speculation about his rift with the grand old party.

"Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome,” Tharoor wrote on X.

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Tharoor praised economic policies of Kerala govt,  PM Modi's meeting with Trump

Tharoor sparked controversy within his party after praising both the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala and PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.

In a newspaper article published on February 14, Tharoor praised the economic policies of the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While the Left party welcomed his comments, Congress leaders criticised Tharoor’s stance.

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Later, the Congress MP voiced a rare praise for PM Modi after US President Trump called the Indian Prime Minister a "great leader". "He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me," the US President said.

Referring to Trump's remarks, Tharoor said: "To hear a man like Donald Trump, whose defence secretary called him the greatest negotiator in the world, announcing that the Indian prime minister was a better negotiator than he was, that sounds like something Mr Modi can put in the bank, that sounds very good."

(With inputs from agencies)