CONGRESS MP Shashi Tharoor’s meeting with Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan in Delhi on Tuesday came wrapped in both politics and symbolism. In a statement after their hour-long interaction, Tharoor said the two discussed Kerala’s development roadmap “in extensive detail”, with Satheesan seeking his “help and policy advice” on a wide range of issues. But it was the closing flourish in the statement that caught attention in political circles. Knowing Satheesan to be a “tireless reader”, Tharoor said he gifted him his latest book on Sree Narayana Guru, adding that the CM agreed “a book is always better than a bouquet”. In Delhi’s political ecosystem, where bouquets are standard-issue optics for courtesy calls, the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s literary touch — and the careful mention of it — was read as classic Tharoor.

IN WHAT he termed was among the most emotional and unforgettable moments of his life, Union Minister for Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan personally invited leaders from across the BJP and RSS’s ranks to be part of the release of ‘Apnapan’ – his memoir on his longstanding association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – in the Capital on Tuesday. According to party insiders, Chouhan’s personal invitations to leaders — whether currently or previously in office — as well as karyakartas irrespective of their seniority, went beyond into the ranks of the NDA, leading to representatives from alliance partners also attending the event.