A recent pre-election survey conducted by a Mumbai-based polling firm has put senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor at the forefront of Kerala’s chief ministerial race.
The survey also showed that Tharoor enjoys the highest preference among potential chief ministerial candidates, with 28.3% of voters backing him. While this positions him as the leading face within the opposition camp, the poll also reflects a leadership crisis within the UDF — 27.1% of respondents were undecided about who should lead the alliance, underlining the absence of a clear, unified figure.
With Kerala heading into the 2026 Assembly polls, the findings suggest growing voter support for Tharoor and also a wave of anti-incumbency sentiment that could favour the return of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
The survey findings were swiftly amplified on social media. A post shared by a supporter on X (formerly Twitter) proclaimed: "@ShashiTharoor emerges as the best bet for chief ministerial choice for the 2026 Kerala polls for a faction-ridden UDF alliance, a recent survey reveals."
Tharoor reposted the message, tagging key Congress figures such as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and VD Satheesan — an act seen by many as a subtle assertion of his relevance in the state’s political future.
🙏🏼 https://t.co/hn1upxKlFMRelated stories
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 9, 2025
Tharoor’s strained relationship with the party’s central leadership has been a matter of speculation ever since his decision to contest the Congress presidential election in 2022, challenging the establishment-backed Mallikarjun Kharge. The move was seen by many as a rare act of dissent within the party, and it has since cast a shadow over his equation with the high command.
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