Thiruvananthapuram | In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faced a tough contest from BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

However, Tharoor has responded to Chandrasekhar's announcement on Sunday about stepping down from public life after 18 years.

Chandrasekhar, who was a Minister of State in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, had initially posted on X about ending his public life but later clarified that he meant his tenure as a Member of Parliament and Minister of State had concluded.

He promptly deleted his initial post--"Today curtains down on my 18-year stint in public service, of which three years I had the privilege to serve with PM @narendramodi ji's TeamModi2.0. I certainly didn't intend to end my 18 years of public service as a candidate who lost an election, but that's how it's turned out." Shortly thereafter, Chandrasekhar deleted the post and issued a new one saying that the earlier one was by an intern and it "created some confusion among a section of people about my future political work." Tharoor, who successfully retained his Thiruvananthapuram seat, responded to the initial post by expressing confidence in Chandrasekhar's ability to continue contributing to the country.

"As someone who discussed various issues with you during your stint in government, I have no doubt that there is much more you can contribute to our country through public service, @RajeevRC_X. Elective office is only one path (and you are young enough to have another crack at that too!) All the best for the future," Tharoor wrote on X.

Chandrasekhar has clarified that his work and commitment to taking India forward and Thiruvananthapuram, as a karyakarta of the BJP remains as relentless as before.