Tharoor calls for Congress introspection after Bihar debacle

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said he was not invited to campaign in the Bihar Assembly election, even as he called for a serious and transparent review of the party’s poor performance. His remarks, coming a day after the results, have reopened internal debates on strategy, leadership decisions, and the party’s messaging during the campaign.

Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Tharoor said the Congress must study in detail what went wrong. He emphasised that the party cannot shy away from examining its weaknesses, especially when the mandate in Bihar was clearly disappointing.

Tharoor noted that the Congress was not the dominant partner in the alliance and added that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which led the coalition, also had questions to answer regarding its performance. “In a mandate like Bihar’s, it is important to examine the totality of the party’s performance,” he said.

Explaining that elections are shaped by many factors, Tharoor listed issues related to organisational strength, public mood, and communication strategy. “There are questions about the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses. There is a question of messaging. These are issues that will have to be looked at,” he said.

He reiterated that he had no direct experience of the Bihar campaign because he was not invited. “I was not there and I was not invited to campaign in Bihar. So I can’t say much from personal experience. Those who were there will certainly study the outcome,” he said.

However, Tharoor’s remarks came at a time when he is already facing criticism from within the party. Senior Congress leader M. M. Hassan launched a strong attack on him over his recent article against dynastic politics. Hassan said Tharoor owed his political rise to the Nehru-Gandhi family and accused him of echoing the BJP’s talking points.

“He has not shed a drop of sweat for society or the country,” Hassan said, arguing that Tharoor should not criticise the Nehru family while still holding a seat in the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He added that if Tharoor wanted to continue questioning dynasty politics, he should step away from the CWC.

Tharoor’s controversial article, published in Project Syndicate, argued that dynastic politics across parties poses a “grave threat” to Indian democracy. He wrote that the time had come for India to “trade dynasty for meritocracy,” a statement that triggered discomfort among several senior Congress leaders.

The debate has added fresh strain to an already wounded party, as leaders begin the difficult process of analysing yet another electoral setback.