'Was not invited to campaign': Shashi Tharoor calls for review of Congress's poor Bihar show

Speaking to reporters after the Bihar poll results, Tharoor said the party must study the entire context of the mandate.

“We were not the senior partner in the alliance, and the RJD must also carefully assess its own performance,” he noted.

Tharoor emphasised that election outcomes stem from a mix of factors — from public sentiment to organisational strengths and communication strategies.

“These are issues that will need careful examination,” he said, adding that the party leadership would undertake a detailed review.

Clarifying his distance from the campaign, he stated, “I was not there, and I was not invited to campaign in Bihar. So I cannot speak from direct experience. Those who participated will certainly analyse the outcome.”

Tharoor criticised for his remarks on dynasty politics

The post-election discussion also reignited internal tensions in Congress.

Senior party leader M.M. Hassan sharply criticised Tharoor for his recent commentary on dynasty politics, accusing him of benefiting from the very family he criticised.

Hassan said Tharoor entered politics with the support of the Jawaharlal Nehru family and rose to prominence because of their backing.

“I have also voted for Tharoor. He has not shed a drop of sweat for society or the country,” Hassan said.

He argued that while Tharoor was free to critique the Nehru-Gandhi family, doing so as a member of the Congress Working Committee was inappropriate.

Hassan further accused him of echoing the BJP’s narrative on “family politics” and suggested Tharoor should step down from the CWC if he wished to continue making such arguments.

Tharoor defends stand on meritocracy

Tharoor’s remarks follow an article he wrote for Project Syndicate, where he argued that dynastic politics — across all political parties — poses a “grave threat” to Indian democracy.

He urged the country to shift from familial power structures toward a more merit-based political culture.

The Congress MP’s comments, coupled with the Bihar poll outcome, have intensified debates within the party about leadership, strategy, and organisational direction — signalling that deeper introspection may lie ahead for the grand old party.

Congress becomes more 'leftist' to counter BJP

Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said the Congress has gradually shifted further to the Left in recent years as part of its effort to counter what he described as the BJP’s “divisive politics.”

He was responding to a question on whether the growing cooperation between the Congress and Left parties reflected “radical centrism” in practice.

Tharoor, who had earlier delivered a lecture on the concept, clarified that his remarks were rooted in ideology and political convictions rather than day-to-day electoral strategy.

“There are still gaps that need bridging,” he said, adding that Congress has increasingly made tactical shifts over time. “In fact, one consequence is that my party has become more of a Left-leaning party than it once was.”

Tharoor argued that earlier Congress dispensations, particularly during the era of Manmohan Singh, were more consciously centrist.

“That was a government that embraced centrist ideas and even adopted certain policies from the preceding BJP administration,” he observed during the event on Thursday night.