After Jyotiraditya Scindia, will Shashi Tharoor also quit Congress? Leader reacts to speculations

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was not amused by reports that he may be the next to leave the party after Madhya Pradesh leader Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered his resignation.

The resignation of Jyotiraditya Scindia from the Congress triggered speculations of more high-profile exits in the Grand Old Party with a senior Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi claiming that many leaders in the party feel "alienated, wasted and discontented".

For reasons not alien to many, some people are saying that Sachin Pilot and Shashi Tharoor can be the next Scindia in the Congress party.

While Pilot has been at loggerheads with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Tharoor, a parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram, has often criticised his own party. Also, there are people in the Congress who believe Shashi Tharoor and Sachin Pilot could someday challenge Rahul Gandhi.

So far, Pilot has not reacted to the speculations but Tharoor was quick to quell the speculations of him taking a saffron plunge. The Congress leader said that he was not an opportunist and joined the politics to "advance his principles".

'I've never been an opportunist'

"Not amused by the silly speculation about my joining @BJP4India. I entered politics not as a careerist but to advance principles I have articulated for nearly four decades. Check my paper trail! My record speaks for itself. I've never been an opportunist&won't start now," he wrote on Twitter along with a screenshot of one such speculative news report in a Malayalam website.

Jyotiraditya Scindia likely to join BJP

On Tuesday, Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the Congress party after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. Along with Scindia, 21 Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh have also tendered their resignations, giving the BJP a shot in the arm to seize power in Madhya Pradesh.

According to reports, Scindia has been offered a Rajya Sabha nomination and birth in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet. Congress has a wafer-thin majority of just four above the required numbers in the MP Legislative Assembly. If the resignations of 21 MLAs are accepted, the 15-month old Kamal Nath government will come in the minority.

Scindia was upset with the Congress party ever since he was denied Chief Minister's job in Madhya Pradesh. Last year, he removed all the references to the Congress party from his Twitter bio. Scindia even threatened to hit the streets against the Kamal Nath government in solidarity with guest teachers. He is likely to join the BJP in presence of party president JP Nadda in Delhi today, March 11.