Another shock for Congress, this time in Kerala: Former CM Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja joins BJP

In a setback for the Congress in Kerala ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, prominent party leader Padmaja Venugopal who is the daughter of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran on Thursday joined the BJP.

This comes almost a year after Anil Antony, former Kerala CM A K Antony’s son, joined the BJP and during a week when party leaders from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh jumped ship.

“The Congress leadership created a situation forcing me to take such a decision,” Padmaja told reporters. “In the elections (2021 Assembly polls, when she contested from Thrissur), the Congress defeated me. I know who worked against me. I complained about it to the party but no action was taken,’’ she said.

Padmaja told the media in Delhi that she was joining BJP without any condition. “They haven’t asked me to contest the elections. I haven’t demanded a Rajya Sabha seat,’’ she said, adding that her complaint to Congress leaders went unheard. “Many leaders did not pick up my calls,” she said.

The decision took the Congress by surprise as it came three days after Padmaja participated in party rallies in Thrissur, which is one of the constituencies where the BJP has some hope in the parliamentary polls. She shared posts of the party on her social media accounts on Wednesday too. Padmaja’s brother and the Congress’s Vadakara MP K Muraleedharan criticised his sister and said he was “snapping all ties with her”.

Muraleedharan who is seeking re-election from Vadakara for a second time, said, “The voters of Vadakara knew me very well. They know that I am fighting steadfastly against the BJP and its communalism. Padmaja joining the BJP will not affect the elections in Vadakara. The soul of my father will not condone her. She is my sister but there is no compromise.