Thiruvananthapuram: With former chief minister and Congress stalwart K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal joining the BJP, the party has got a shot in the arm in Kerala ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls.
Padmaja Venugopal, 63, who was Kerala PCC general secretary, received the BJP membership from Prakash Javadekar at the party headquarters in Delhi on Thursday. She blamed the Congress state and central leadership for forcing her to quit the party.
“I am so happy. This is the first time I am changing parties. I was not happy with the Congress for a long time. There is no leadership before which you can seek redressal for your grievances. I have great respect for Sonia ji but even she did not give me an appointment. I spoke about my grievances but there was no response from the leadership,” she told media persons.
Padmaja said she had complained to the leadership that people who were responsible for her defeat in the Thrissur assembly constituency in 2021 were brought to the helm of the party.
“I feel bad for the Congress workers since I had stuck to the organisation even when my father left the party. But I am sure they will understand why I took this decision,” she said.
Padmaja’s entry into the BJP was on the cards. The BJP central leadership had held a couple of rounds of discussions with her without taking the Kerala unit on board. Though Padmaja claimed that she joined the party without any conditions, sources said the BJP is exploring all possibilities; fielding her from Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency and even a Raj Bhavan assignment.
Padmaja, for the BJP, is a prize catch in Kerala which continues to remain out of bounds for the party. The party believes that her entry will have an impact in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency where the BJP has fielded a high-profile candidate like actor Suresh Gopi.
Padmaja had contested back-to-back assembly elections from Thrissur in 2016 and 2021. In the last elections, she lost by a slender margin of 946 votes to the LDF candidate.
The BJP feels that her presence will make an impact in Thrissur where Suresh Gopi is locked in a triangular contest with sitting MP T N Prathapan and LDF’s V S Sunil Kumar.
The Congress which made attempts to mollify Padmaja earlier, sought to play down her exit. The party leaders say she left Congress in search of greener pastures.
Her brother and Congress MP K Muraleedharan hit out at Padmaja calling her a "betrayer". “Work from home” leader’s exit will have no impact on the party, he said and added that the Congress had fielded Padmaja from safe seats once in Lok Sabha and twice in Assembly. But she could not win any of these seats which spoke volumes about her popularity.
“K Karunakaran gave his entire life for the party and he fought against the communal forces. Unfortunately, his daughter is joining BJP,” said veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
He claimed the Congress-led UDF would register a stupendous victory in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Former Mahila Congress president Bindu Krishna said Padmaja joined BJP under duress as ED had questioned her husband Dr Venugopal recently.
Meanwhile, Prakash Javadekar who is in charge of Kerala said a big churning is set to take place in the state. “People are attracted to Modi ji’s leadership. Our party will give respect, responsibility and role to Padmaja ji,” he said.
