Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor, who was made the co-chair of Congress’s 2026 Kerala election marketing campaign committee Thursday night time, was unlikely to attend the committee’s first 16 February assembly on the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Tharoor won’t be current on the assembly attributable to an damage in his leg, the 10-member election panel’s chair, Ramesh Chennithala, advised reporters Friday, a day after the All India Congress Committee  (AICC) issued an announcement appointing Tharoor because the election panel’s co-chair.

Talking to reporters Friday in Alappuzha, senior Congress chief and former Chief of Opposition (LoP) within the Kerala legislative meeting, Chennithala, thanked the social gathering excessive command for appointing him because the chair of the election committee earlier than he declared the primary assembly of the physique on 16 February.

“I don’t know if Shashi Tharoor may have the ability to attend the assembly, in particular person, attributable to an damage in his leg. I talked to him. The remainder of the members will attend,” Chennithala mentioned, including that the social gathering and the Congress-led Opposition alliance, United Democratic Entrance, would take an opportunity at a coordinated marketing campaign for the change of rule within the state.

In response to the Tharoor X deal with, the MP is within the US to take part in a number of occasions, together with on the Massachusetts Institute of Expertise (MIT) and Harvard College, over the weekend.

When contacted by ThePrint, the MP’s workplace in Thiruvananthapuram mentioned that they have been but to finalise Tharoor’s programmes for the meeting marketing campaign or his subsequent go to to the state capital.

Aside from Chennithala and Tharoor, the committee consists of Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil, the convener, and members Hibi Eden, Roji M. John, C.R. Mahesh, Mathew Kuzhalnadan, Ramya Haridas, M. Liju, and Deepthi Mary Varghese.

Equally, the manifesto committee is chaired by Benny Behanan, with Kodikunnil Suresh, Dean Kuriakose, and Jebi Mather as its members.

Chennithala mentioned the Congress-led UDF’s preparations for the meeting polls had been launched early, citing the continued Puthuyuga Yatra led by Kerala Chief of Opposition V.D. Satheesan.

“We purpose to carry a coordinated marketing campaign of the UDF and Congress to the individuals. Individuals desire a change in authorities; it was confirmed within the native physique, parliamentary, and meeting bypolls,” he mentioned.

Tharoor has been within the highlight since final 12 months after the Thiruvananthapuram MP made a number of open remarks supporting the Narendra Modi-led authorities and its insurance policies, marking a visual deviation from the Congress social gathering’s official stance.

Tharoor was a member of the 17-member core committee shaped by the Congress to supervise the native physique polls performed in December in Kerala. Nevertheless, the chief was energetic on the bottom for the marketing campaign for just some days.

Nevertheless, after attending the social gathering’s management camp in Wayanad in early January, Tharoor denied any tensions, asserting that his stand was the identical because the Congress on fundamental topics and that his impartial articles had been taken out of context, resulting in controversy.

Nevertheless, the problem resurfaced once more after the chief skipped a key social gathering assembly in Delhi in late January. Quickly after, a separate assembly for Tharoor with Lok Sabha Chief of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge came about in Delhi, after which Tharoor mentioned the dialogue was ‘constructive’ and ‘optimistic’ and that the leaders are shifting on the ‘similar web page.’

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

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