India, April 2 -- As Kerala heads for a high-stakes assembly election on April 9, the spotlight has increasingly turned to eloquent Congress MP Shashi Tharoor - not as a chief ministerial contender though.

Shashi Tharoor has always been a key figure when it comes to Kerala politics - be it the assembly election or the Lok Sabha poll, which he won from the Thiruvananthapuram seat in 2024 - as a potentially decisive campaign strategist and public face for the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Seen shaking a leg and trying his hands on traditional instruments lately with election candidates, the charismatic Congressman has firmly ruled himself out of chief ministerial race and backed for elected MLAs being in the running for the post.

Amid s...