Major setback for Congress; Late Kerala CM Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal joins BJP

By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Mar 7, 2024, 6:27 PM IST

In a huge blow to the Congress in Kerala, Padmaja Venugopal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by officially accepting membership from BJP's senior leader Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi today.

In a major setback for the Congress, Padmaja Venugopal who recently quit the grand old party, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (Mar 07) in New Delhi ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. She was the KPCC general secretary and daughter of the late former Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran. Her decision comes after discussions with the party's national leaders in Delhi.

Padmaja reportedly feels sidelined by the Congress party leadership, leading to her decision to switch parties. Rumors about Padmaja joining the BJP had surfaced earlier, but she denied them through social media. However, she later withdrew her Facebook post denying the rumors and changed her Facebook bio to "Indian Politician from Kerala."

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Padmaja Venugopal faced successive electoral defeats in the Thrissur constituency in the last two assembly elections and the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Mukundapuram, prompting her to consider other options. Additionally, the delay in constructing K. Karunakaran's memorial by the Congress leadership reportedly contributed to Padmaja's decision to shift allegiance to the BJP.

Congress leader and MP K Muraleedharan expressed his disappointment over his sister Padmaja Venugopal's decision to leave the Congress and join the BJP, labeling it as deceitful and unacceptable. He refuted claims of neglect by Congress, stating that Padmaja was always given due consideration. Muraleedharan also asserted that he no longer considers Padmaja as his sister following her decision to join the BJP.

"By taking Padmaja, BJP will not get the benefit and the party will fall to the third position even in the constituency which is expected to get the first position. Regardless of what the party got or not, it should have been remembered that when Karunakaran was taken to the pyre, he was covered in a flag. I have had a lot of trouble in the party, yet I did not join the BJP," Muraleedharan said.

In the last 11 months, there have been two high-profile defections from the Congress to the BJP, which has shocked the KPCC and cast doubt on the leadership's capacity to pull together ahead of crucial general elections. Anil K. Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony and a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), left the party to join the BJP in April 2023. He is presently contesting for the Lok Sabha seat of Pathanamthitta on the BJP ticket.

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