Tharoor arrived at the Lok Sabha complex around 11 a.m. and was first seen entering the House, where he briefly sat beside his Kerala colleague M.K. Venugopal, who was present in the room, exited shortly thereafter, leaving Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Tharoor alone. The closed-door meeting lasted for nearly two hours, adding to its political significance given the backdrop of speculation surrounding Tharoor’s differences with sections of the party leadership. Asked whether he would actively take part in the Congress campaign for the Assembly polls, Tharoor responded in the affirmative. The meeting is likely to calm immediate speculation, even as it reinforces Tharoor’s centrality within the Congress at a politically sensitive moment.