'One Kerala Story': Shashi Tharoor Lauds Poll Results, Calls State An Example Of Communal Harmony

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor lauded the recent Kerala Assembly election results and described it as a powerful example of communal harmony in the state. He said the voters in the state continue to look beyond caste and religion when choosing their representatives.

In a social media post on Thursday, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the outcome offered a “Kerala story” that “communalists should note”, in an apparent counter to the film ‘The Kerala Story’, which depicted the state in a negative light through allegations of “love jihad”.

Highlighting specific constituencies, Tharoor pointed out that Thavanur, a Muslim-majority seat, elected a Christian candidate, VS Joy; Kalamassery, a Hindu-majority constituency, chose a Muslim candidate, VE

Abdul Gafoor; and Kochi, a Christian-majority seat, elected another Muslim candidate, Muhammed Shiyas.

“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,” Tharoor said.

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

After some social media users questioned the absence of an example where a Muslim-majority constituency elected a Hindu candidate, Tharoor issued a clarification, adding a fourth instance to his argument. He noted that in Trikaripur, a Muslim-majority seat, Sandeep Varier, a Hindu candidate, had won on a United Democratic Front (UDF) ticket.

“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!” he wrote.

All the candidates cited by Tharoor belong to the Congress-led UDF, with VE Abdul Gafoor representing the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress in Kerala.

The UDF emerged victorious in the election, securing 102 seats in the 140-member Kerala Assembly.