India, Feb. 24 -- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said he is open to exploring other options if his party doesn't need him for service, in a strong message to the outfit which is miffed by the politician's recent praises for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US trip and the LDF government in Kerala.

Tharoor made the remark on Varthamanam, a Malayalam-language podcast by The Indian Express.

The Congress MP claimed the mere committed voters won't make the party win the elections in the state, which will head to the voting next year.

Tharoor said, "If you look at the national level, the Congress' vote was around 19 percent. Would we be fine with our own vote base? Only if we get 26-27 percent additional votes, we can come to power. So we need...