Amid swirling speculations, Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of late Congress stalwart Ok Karunakaran, is reportedly set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. The rumors gained traction after Venugopal deleted a Facebook publish initially dismissing studies of her defection. Venugopal, who is at present serving as a frontrunner inside the Congress ranks, is anticipated to make the swap.
Facebook publish deletion fuels speculations
Initially, Venugopal downplayed the studies of her potential transfer to the BJP, labeling them as a mere joke on Facebook, in accordance to a PTI report. However, her subsequent deletion of the publish intensified speculations, hinting at a potential departure from the Congress.
Who is Padmaja Venugopal?
At 64, Padmaja Venugopal serves as the final secretary of the Congress’ Kerala unit. Despite her political lineage, she confronted electoral setbacks, notably dropping within the final two state meeting elections from the Thrissur constituency. Her electoral misfortunes additionally prolonged to the nationwide degree, as she failed to safe victory within the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from the Mukundapuram constituency. Reports counsel that Venugopal felt marginalized by the Congress management, main to her determination to swap sides.
Rift with Congress management
Tensions between Venugopal and the Congress management got here to a head when she was allegedly barred from becoming a member of Congress nationwide General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s car throughout an election marketing campaign rally. Her brother, Ok Muraleedharan, a Congress Lok Sabha MP, publicly severed ties together with her throughout a press convention in Kerala’s Kozhikode, additional exacerbating the household rift. Muraleedharan criticised Venugopal’s absence from political actions and questioned her dedication to the celebration. He underscored the frustration felt by their late father, Karunakaran, over her purported disloyalty to the Congress.
