Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar predicted on Sunday that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will secure a third straight term in the upcoming Assembly elections. Aiyar also lauded the ruling LDF government’s panchayati raj model.
The Congress, however, distanced itself from the remarks, clarifying they were Aiyar’s personal views.
Speaking at the Vision 2031 International Conference on Democracy and Development in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who he predicted would retain power. Aiyar renewed his call to position Kerala as India’s top Panchayati Raj state. He hailed the state’s progress, noting the irony: “The only state advancing Mahatma Gandhi’s prescribed model is ruled by India’s Marxist-Leninist party.”
Aiyar also voiced regret over the absence of his Congress colleagues at the seminar, calling it both a state and national event. “I don’t know if this is a compliment or an insult,” he said, “but I regret very much the lack of my party peers here.”
While Congress refuted his remarks, several senior leaders from the party incluidng Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh, quickly reacted to Aiyar’s remarks, “Mani Shankar Aiyar has had no connection with Congress for years. He speaks purely in a personal capacity,” Jairam Ramesh stated, adding that Kerala would oust the Left Front to restore Congress-led UDF rule.
While Kerala Chief Minister,Pinarayi Vijayan, welcomed Aiyar’s remarks. In an X post, he said, “The charismatic words of Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar during the #Vision2031 International Conference resonate well with the contemporary scenario. We stand united in the belief that democracy only flourishes when power resides with the people. We will continue to strengthen our local bodies as the heartbeat of growth.”
The charismatic words of Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar during the #Vision2031 International Conference resonate well with the contemporary scenario. We stand united in the belief that democracy only flourishes when power resides with the people. We will continue to strengthen our local… pic.twitter.com/El9wNmULMP
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) February 15, 2026
Earlier today, Mani Shankar Aiyar responded to Congress leaders’ remarks. He lashed out at Congress leader Pawan Khera, saying, “Who is going to vote for a party whose leaders are all at each other’s throats? Do you think the people of Kerala don’t know what is happening in the Congress leadership? At least in Pinarayi’s govt there is discipline. They have no Mani Shankar Aiyar.”
“I am Mani Shankar Aiyar because Nehru was a rebel against Gandhi, and Subhas Bose was a rebel against Gandhi. Yet Gandhi made Jawaharlal Nehru the PM of India. If Subhas Bose had survived the aircrash on 17th August 1945, I am certain he would have been the President of India. So, that is how they dealt with dissidence. How does the present Congress deal with it? They put somebody like Pawan Khera as the official spokesman. I have absolutely no respect and complete contempt for Pawan Khera”, he added.
While he fired at senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, saying that if Pawan Khera expels me, I’ll happily walk out and kick his backside.
#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Mani Shankar Aiyar says, “…Who is going to vote for a party whose leaders are all at each other’s throats? Do you think the people of Kerala don’t know what is happening in Congress leadership? At least in Pinarayi’s govt there is… pic.twitter.com/4BxkqLVi5f
— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2026
Mani Shankar Aiyar’s recent remarks praising Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and predicting his third term have ignited a political firestorm just weeks before the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
