Why Shashi Tharoor Skipped Kerala CM VD Satheesan’s Oath Ceremony

Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who often hits headlines for internal rift with Congress, sparked a buzz after he skipped VD Satheesan’s oath ceremony as Kerala Chief Minister on Monday. The event was significant particularly for Congress as the party returned to power in the Southern state after 10-long years. The event was attended by senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and KC Venugopal among others but Tharoor’s absent was evident.

Congress returned to power through the United Democratic Front after defeating the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, which had been in power for a decade. The UDF won 102 of the 140 seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Why Shashi Tharoor Skipped

Shashi Tharoor had already informed that he would give the event a skip as he would not be in the town. The Congress leader was in the United States over the weekend to deliver an address at his alma mater, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University. He had informed on Friday, May 15, that he would not be able to attend the ceremony because of a prior commitment.

“I’m sorry to be missing the swearing-in ceremony of my @incKerala colleague and new CM of Kerala @vdsatheesan. I am in Boston this weekend to deliver the Commencement address at the graduation ceremony of my alma mater, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at @TuftsUniversity and also to participate in the 50th anniversary reunion of my graduating class!” he had written in a post on X. 

In Keralam, previously known as Kerala, a CM was announced after 15-day delay as Congress engaged in long deliberations amid a tight power tussle between Satheesan and another senior Congress leader, KC Venugopal. The party high command finally chose the former to lead the state, citing the popularity he enjoys among UDF partners, among other reasons.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. Along with Satheesan, the full Council of Ministers was sworn in together, marking the first time in nearly six decades that the entire Cabinet took oath simultaneously with the Chief Minister.

The 20-member Cabinet sworn in alongside Satheesan includes senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, along with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, N Samsudheen, KM Shaji and VE Abdul Gafoor. Other ministers include Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, CP John, AP Anil Kumar, T Siddique, PC Vishnunath, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, M Liju, KA Thulasi and OJ Janeesh.

ALSO READ: Dating App Match, Chilling Last Chats And Suicide: Shocking Details In Bhopal Dowry Death