Kerala a model of communal harmony: Shashi Tharoor after UDF's poll victory

After the UDF's comeback in Kerala, Shashi Tharoor said the verdict reflected communal harmony across constituencies. He argued that the results showed identity politics had not broken the state's social fabric.

In Short

• Tharoor cited three constituencies that elected candidates across religious majorities
• He said Kerala resisted identity politics despite wider national electoral trends
• Congress won 63 seats, regaining ground after defeats in 2016 and 2021

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, in his latest post on X, hailed Kerala as a ‘model of communal harmony’ after the Congress-led UDF secured a major comeback in the recently-concluded polls with 100+ seats, outplaying the incumbent Left Democratic Front.

In his post, Tharoor wrote, “One #KeralaStory from the recent election results that communalists should note: a Muslim majority constituency, Thavanur, elected a Christian, VS Joy; a Hindu majority constituency, Kalamassery, elected a Muslim. VE Abdul Gafoor, and a Christian majority constituency, Kochi, elected a Muslim, Muhammed Shiyas.”

He further mentioned that the national influence of identity politics failed to break Kerala’s own political and social fabric, which treats every human equally, going beyond their caste and religion.

“Despite some influence from the national trends in favour of identity politics, Kerala remains a model of communal harmony, a state where people see human beings first and caste or religion later,” he added.

CONGRESS EMERGES AS SINGLE LARGEST PARTY

Reclaiming its spot in the state politics after consecutive defeats in the 2016 and 2021 assembly polls, Congress outplayed the Left government with a stunning 63 seats.

Its alliance partners also put up a stellar show, as the Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) became the second-largest party in the UDF with 22 seats. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a consistent member of the UDF, also won three seats, helping the alliance to reach its highest-ever tally of 102 seats.

Following the victory, several leaders from the Congress top brass were seen celebrating across the state. VD Satheesan held a roadshow in his Pervaur constituency. He was accompanied by a large number of Congress supporters.

Satheesan won from Peravur with a margin of more than 20,000 votes. He is one of the frontrunners for the CM’s post along with KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.

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