Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Kerala CM K Karunakaran, likely to join BJP from Congress ranks

Padmaja’s entry would be a major boost to the saffron party in the state. She met the BJP central leadership, including Home Minister Amit Shah.

UDF Candidate Padmaja Venugopal waves to party workers in Thrissur constituency during the 2016 Kerala Assembly elections, alongside former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and then Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. File Photo | EPS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In what could be a major setback for the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior leader Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of the late Congress patriarch K Karunakaran, is likely to join the BJP on Thursday. Padmaja’s entry would be a major boost to the saffron party in the state.

Padmaja, 64, met the BJP central leadership, including Home Minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday. There are indications she will receive party membership at the BJP headquarters. It is learnt the Congress state leadership’s decision to give a Rajya Sabha seat to the Muslim League is the immediate provocation for Padmaja to leave the Congress camp. Her brother and Vadakara MP K Muraleedharan told TNIE that she was upset with the Congress decision. “Padmaja had expressed her strong displeasure about the Congress state leadership’s decision to give a second RS seat to the Muslim League. She has been keen to get an RS seat. I have been told that she met Amit Shah on Wednesday,” Muraleedharan said, adding that she had not returned his call on the day.

Earlier, Congress veteran A K Antony’s son Anil Antony too had joined the BJP. He is contesting the upcoming general elections as the BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta.

For sometime now, Padmaja has been keeping a distance from the Congress leadership.

After reports indicated she might join the BJP camp, Padmaja came out with a Facebook post earlier in the day rubbishing such reports.

But late on Wednesday, she removed the post. The development has caught the Congress state leadership unawares. Having nursed political ambitions, Padmaja had never managed to win an assembly or Lok Sabha election.

Currently serving as KPCC’s political affairs committee member, Padmaja had unsuccessfully contested from Mukundapuram in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls and from Thrissur in the 2016 and 2021 assembly polls.

A Congress source in Delhi said Padmaja landed in Delhi on Tuesday after visiting Varanasi.

“There are chances of Padmaja getting the Chalakudy Lok Sabha seat. Suresh Gopi, the BJP candidate in Thrissur, has been instrumental in ensuring a meeting for Padmaja with Amit Shah,” he said.