Bid to undermine 'Tharoor for CM'? Kerala Congress dismisses survey projecting own victory in 2026 polls

The survey dismissed by Kerala MLA Ramesh Chennithala also showed Shashi Tharoor as the most favoured CM face from the UDF. (File: PTI)

The Kerala unit of the Congress party has dismissed a recent survey that projected a victory by its own party-led alliance, the United Democratic Front, in the Kerala Assembly elections slated to be held in 2026.

The survey also showed popular support for the party's Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor as the most favoured chief ministerial candidate within the UDF, a factor that appears to have left former Kerala minister Ramesh Chennithala unimpressed.

Tharoor had reacted with a 'folded hands' emoji to a post on X that had a link to a Moneycontrol report on the survey, apparently in gratitude for the people's support as conveyed in the survey.

🙏🏼 https://t.co/hn1upxKlFM

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 9, 2025

Reacting to the development, Chennithala said the survey that Shashi Tharoor is the most suitable candidate to become the Chief Minister in the UDF is "fabricated" and that he "does not trust it".

"Such surveys are coming out of BJP centres to create confusion. There is no need to get caught in them," he added.

Chennithala was referring to the Kerala Vote Vibe Survey 2026 that found a strong wave of anti-incumbency in Kerala with the Congress-led UDF positioned as a strong change alternative and the National Democratic Alliance fast gaining ground as a third option.

As per the survey, as many as 38.9 percent of those surveyed trusted the UDF for the development of Kerala and its populace as compared to 27.8 percent of the ruling Left Democratic Front.

The survey showed a strong anti-incumbency wave against the ruling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government and a strong desire for change with 62 percent of respondents saying they would want to replace their current legislator.

While 28.3 percent of the respondents saw Shashi Tharoor as the most favoured CM face from the UDF, a marginally lower percentage of respondents (27.1%) said they were uncertain about the UDF chief ministerial face.

The remarks by the Congress MLA have once again revealed the factionalism prevalent within the state unit of the party which has often been at loggerheads with Tharoor, a four-time Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

Tharoor recently said that he was not asked by the party leadership to campaign for the recent Nilambur Assembly by-poll. The Kerala Congress, however, responded saying that Tharoor's name was on the list of star campaigners submitted to the Election Commission, but Tharoor was not available.

The campaigning for the by-election coincided with Tharoor's multi-nation visit leading the parliamentary delegation on Operation Sindoor. His strong articulation of India's position during the military conflict with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack also left many within the Congress unhappy.