How Shashi Tharoor-Congress ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ moment gives UDF a timely lift before Kerala polls | India News

NEW DELHI: The recent patch-up and the ‘all is good’ moment between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress high command have given the Congress in Kerala much-needed momentum ahead of the April–May assembly elections. Tharoor’s meeting with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, after weeks of speculations about his strained ties with the party, has ended what many within the Congress described as an “awkward episode” and positioned him as a central campaign face for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).At a time when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is battling incumbency fatigue and the BJP is testing the limits of its expansion in the state, the reconciliation gives the UDF a renewed sense of coherence and momentum.Also read | Congress vs Tharoor: A new beginning or temporary truce?‘All is good’ at a critical momentThe recent Tharoor–Congress thaw sends a strong signal of unity to cadres and allies alike at a crucial time. Tharoor reportedly had been upset over the treatment meted out to him by Rahul Gandhi at a Kochi event recently and attempts by some leaders to sideline him in Kerala.For a party often in crisis over factionalism in its state units, the optics in Kerala were damaging.The reconciliation addressed that head-on. The leader of the opposition in the assembly, VD Satheesan’s faction, and leaders seen as sympathetic to Tharoor now have little room for parallel power centres.The warmth also saves Congress from embarrassment in front of its own LDF allies.Last year, as Tharoor had pointed out, “absence of a leader” in the Kerala party unit, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) chief Sadiq Ali Thangal had publicly asked the Congress to resolve internal differences, warning that visible discord would only benefit rivals. By bringing Tharoor back in confidence, that concern has now been allayed.This unity boost matters electorally.Since the late 1980s, Kerala voters have flipped governments every five years between the UDF and the LDF. However, this changed in the 2021 assembly polls, when the LDF failed to make gains and the LDF under Pinarayi Vijayan won a second consecutive term.The LDF improved its tally from 91 seats in 2016 to 99 in 2021, while the UDF dropped from 47 to 41 seats.Tharoor’s voter magnetismIn the 2021 assembly polls, the biggest drive for the LDF sweep came from the Travancore belt, which includes Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam. The LDF won a majority of seats in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, traditionally swing-heavy areas. Tharoor’s Lok Sabha seat, Thiruvananthapuram, had also historically been a swing constituency, alternating between the Congress and the Left, and more recently becoming a BJP target seat. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Tharoor, but the Congress leader retained the seat for the fourth time by over 16,000 votes. The UDF swept 18 of 20 Lok Sabha seats.Tharoor’s appeal has been particularly visible among educated, salaried and first-time voters, segments that have shown increasing volatility in recent state and local elections. This cohort has not consistently aligned with the Congress organisation and has, at times, been receptive to the BJP’s urban outreach or the LDF’s governance pitch. Tharoor’s sustained wins in Thiruvananthapuram suggest an ability to arrest that drift, even when broader party trends are mixed.At a strategic level, this gives the UDF a pathway to expand beyond its traditional social bases without alienating them. Urban centres such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, where turnout fluctuates and margins are often narrow, are likely to play an outsized role in 2026. Tharoor’s presence allows the Congress to contest these spaces more credibly, particularly at a time when the BJP has signalled intent through incremental municipal gains and a recent mayoral victory.The Congress leadership’s decision to deploy Tharoor as a campaign spearhead, tasked with touring all 140 constituencies, adds star power to a contest that often hinges on narrative dominance. Tharoor’s oratory, media presence and ability to frame local issues within a national and global context give the UDF an edge in reaching undecided voters.Countering LDF and BJP narrativesThe patch-up blunts rival narratives at once. For the BJP, which has repeatedly highlighted Congress infighting to project itself as a disciplined alternative (recently by also using Tharoor’s name frequently), the reconciliation weakens the “internal chaos” line of attack.This comes at a moment when the BJP is seeking to capitalise on its recent mayoral win in Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation, a symbolic breakthrough that signalled growing urban traction, even if assembly-level success remains elusive.Moreover, Tharoor’s active presence on the campaign trail is likely to help the UDF attract the younger demographic, especially aspirants and educated youth. The Congress leader’s credibility as an author, diplomat and global speaker also gives him unique traction among voters in Kerala, given the state’s high literacy rate.Both the LDF and the BJP-led NDA have also often portrayed the Congress as dynastic and directionless. The image of Tharoor standing alongside Rahul Gandhi will undercut those claims, at least for now.Risks contained, momentum regainedPerhaps the most immediate benefit of the reconciliation is risk mitigation. Speculation that Tharoor might drift towards the LDF or even explore non-Congress platforms has been firmly quashed. His integration into the Congress election campaign gives a message of consistency.The memory of 2021 still looms large for Congress strategists. Despite favourable anti-incumbency indicators then, the UDF failed to convert opportunity into victory. The Tharoor patch-up is being seen as a corrective step, aimed at ensuring that organisational weaknesses do not once again squander political openings.By restoring unity, the Congress-Tharoor patch-up gives the opposition UDF a credible shot at turning the page after years of Left rule. Whether it translates into seats in elections will depend on execution, alliances and local dynamics, but for now with this ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ image, the UDF has scored an early and much-needed win before heading into the elections.