Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has highlighted what he called the “real Kerala story” emerging from the 2026 Assembly election results, saying voters in the state chose candidates beyond religious and caste identities.
In a post on X, Tharoor pointed to constituencies where voters elected candidates from communities different from the demographic majority of the seat.
“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,” Tharoor wrote.
“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.
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,…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 6, 2026
Responding to critics who questioned the absence of an example involving a Hindu candidate winning in a Muslim-majority constituency, Tharoor later cited Trikaripur, where UDF candidate Sandeep Varier secured victory.
“I note that some have commented upon a ‘missing link' in my story, asking for evidence of a Muslim majority constituency electing a Hindu candidate. This has also just happened in Trikaripur, where Sandeep Varier won for the UDF. A fourth example to reinforce my #KeralaStory! (sic),” he wrote.
In an opinion piece for NDTV, titled ‘Who Else?' — The Hubris That Shattered The Left In Kerala, Tharoor argued that the verdict marked more than a routine anti-incumbency swing, describing it as a “structural rejection” of the Left Democratic Front's governing style.
“The pendulum has not just swung back; it has shattered the clock,” he wrote, referring to the UDF's sweeping victory over the LDF in Kerala.
According to Tharoor, the LDF's campaign slogan, “Matt aarunde?” (“Who else is there?”), and the prominence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in campaign messaging projected “an arrogance that voters found stifling”.
“The rejection of one-man rule is a victory for the collective democratic spirit over the instincts of a Communist autocracy,” he wrote.
Tharoor also argued that the CPI(M)'s traditional political vocabulary had lost resonance with younger voters navigating a globalised economy and seeking employment opportunities beyond state-backed welfare measures.
“The hammer and sickle, symbols of a noble struggle for land reform and labour rights in the 1950s, feel increasingly disconnected from the aspirations of the 2020s,” he said.
The Congress leader said Kerala's electorate resisted communal polarisation despite attempts to inject divisive narratives into the campaign.
“These results prove that the real ‘Kerala Story' is one of remarkable cross-community trust,” he wrote. “People voted for the political message of the candidate and the hopes they embodied, rather than judging them on the basis of their faith or community.”
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