New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas has claimed that the Congress leadership's apparent "ceasefire" with Shashi Tharoor may last only until the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, suggesting that the party "requires" him for electoral reasons.

In an interview with ANI amid speculation over Tharoor's equations with the Congress high command, Brittas said the recent warmth between Tharoor and the leadership followed his meeting with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

"So-called ceasefire, the media says that happened because of the meeting (between) Shashi Tharoor and Rahul Gandhi, it has happened because Kerala elections are going to take place," Bri...