A seismic shift grips Kerala as Padmaja Venugopal readies for polls on BJP’s symbol from Thrissur. The 66-year-old, scion of Karunakaran dynasty, ditches Congress after three losses, signaling deeper rifts in the state’s political fabric.
Her father, K. Karunakaran, was a colossus: four Chief Ministerships, unchallenged Congress dominance. He engineered brother Muraleedharan’s 1989 triumph over CPI(M)’s Inbiichi Babu, cementing familial legacy.
Padmaja’s record tells a different tale of grit and grit alone. Mukundapuram 2004: defeat. Thrissur 2016: defeat. Thrissur 2021: agonizing 946-vote loss, Kerala’s tightest in years.
As Karunakaran’s era ended, so did her party’s favors. Pre-2024 Lok Sabha, she bolted, decrying neglect, and aligned with BJP.
Now, with Thrissur nod in sight, evolving alliances—BJP’s surge—could tip scales. This defection transcends individual ambition; it mirrors Congress’s eroding hold, BJP’s expansion, and a family’s quest for revival in Kerala’s cutthroat electoral wars.