NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday took a sharp swipe at the Congress as reports of internal disagreement within the party continued to surface. The attack came after a senior Congress leader made remarks that were widely seen as indirectly calling party MP Shashi Tharoor “irrelevant,” adding fresh fuel to an already simmering situation. Seizing the moment, the BJP portrayed the Congress as a party caught in constant internal conflict rather than focused on public issues.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla mocked the Congress leadership and suggested that the party now needs a special mechanism to deal with its own disputes. He said the Congress should have a “Board of Peace,” while pointing to what he described as a pattern of infighting across different state units and leadership levels. His remarks were aimed at highlighting what the BJP sees as chronic instability within the opposition party.

Listing several well-known disputes, Poonawalla wrote on social media, “After Rahul vs Priyanka Congress, DKS Vs Siddaramiah Congress, Gehlot vs Pilot Congress, now Tharoor vs Kerala Congress,” drawing attention to leadership struggles that have frequently made headlines. By placing the current situation involving Tharoor in a longer list of internal disagreements, the BJP spokesperson framed it as part of a larger and ongoing problem within the Congress.

He continued with a sharper political jab, stating, “Maha Yuddh in Maha Panchayat? Guess Congress party needs it’s own 'Board of Peace'. But one thing is clear : whoever keeps country above family gets sidelined in congress - I’m an example of this,” a remark that combined sarcasm with a pointed accusation about how leadership decisions are made within the party.

Earlier in the day, the controversy deepened after Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit commented on why Shashi Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram Member of Parliament, did not attend a key Kerala Congress meeting. Dikshit’s words were seen by many as dismissive and added to the perception of an internal rift. He said, “All the strong and senior leaders from Kerala are attending. Those who are relevant to the Congress are coming,” a statement that quickly drew attention because of its implied meaning.

Amid this backdrop, it emerged that Tharoor, who is reportedly unhappy that Rahul Gandhi did not meet him during a recent visit to Kochi, chose not to attend the party meeting. Instead, he is scheduled to attend the Kerala Literature Festival. This decision has been widely discussed as another sign of his discomfort with his current standing in the party.

Speculation about a widening gap between Tharoor and the Congress leadership has grown following a series of developments over recent months. Political observers note that these events have been interpreted as signals of the senior leader’s increasing dissatisfaction with his role and influence within the organisation.

The tension appeared to become more visible when Tharoor skipped an important Congress meeting held on the eve of last year’s Winter Session of Parliament. That absence was widely viewed as more than a scheduling issue, with many seeing it as a clear indication of strain between him and the party leadership. Adding to this, Tharoor has openly spoken about uncertainty regarding the space he occupies in the Congress and what the party expects from him.

He has also publicly raised concerns about what he described as a leadership vacuum within the Kerala Congress. In an effort to seek clarity, Tharoor later met Rahul Gandhi to discuss his position and future role in the party structure. However, instead of calming the situation, these moves further intensified speculation about an uneasy and unresolved relationship between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress leadership.

The political debate around Shashi Tharoor’s past bid for the post of United Nations Secretary-General resurfaced sharply during the Lok Sabha election campaign, with BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai bringing the issue into the spotlight. Annamalai, who is also the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Coimbatore, accused the Congress party of failing to stand firmly behind Tharoor during his 2006 campaign for the top UN job.

According to Annamalai, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the time, under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, did not make a serious diplomatic effort to secure international support for Tharoor. He alleged that Indian diplomats were not proactive in seeking votes from influential countries, including those in the Middle East, where India traditionally has strong ties. Annamalai further claimed that Manmohan Singh did not even raise the issue of supporting Tharoor with the United States during discussions with the US Secretary of State, suggesting a lack of urgency or intent at the highest level of government.

To strengthen his argument, Annamalai referred to Shashi Tharoor’s own writings from later years. He pointed out that Tharoor himself had acknowledged that the Congress government did not fully back his candidacy in a meaningful or strategic manner. This reference was used by the BJP leader to argue that Congress has a history of not supporting its own leaders effectively on the global stage.

Shashi Tharoor, however, firmly rejected these claims. Responding on April 22, 2024, he stated that the Congress government had officially nominated him for the UN Secretary-General position. He clarified that at the time, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi was the Congress party president, and both had fully endorsed his candidature. Tharoor’s response aimed to counter the narrative that he had been left unsupported by his own party and government.

This exchange unfolded in the middle of the high-pitched 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign in Tamil Nadu, where K Annamalai and Shashi Tharoor were political rivals in the Coimbatore constituency. The issue was used by Annamalai to underline the BJP’s claim that it offers stronger and more decisive foreign policy leadership compared to the Congress. For voters, the debate became not just about past events, but also about contrasting political narratives on India’s role and credibility on the global stage.