Former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal’s exit from the party has put the Congress in Kerala in a state of despondency.

Padmaja’s decision to quit the grand old party and join the BJP has sent shock waves to the Congress in Kerala. However, the BJP may not get much political dividends by her entry into the party. But the psychological impact that will be there on the political scene in Kerala may not be minimal.

The fact that Padmaja comes from a prominent Congress family that dominated state politics for long is adding to the significance of her exit from the party. It sends out the message that the BJP has succeeded in bringing Congress leaders to its fold, as being done in other states, in Kerala too.

In April, 2023, Anil Antony, former head of Congress party’s digital media head in Kerala and son of veteran leader AK Antony, former Kerala chief minister and defence minister had joined BJP.

While Anil, who is now the national secretary of the party and a BJP candidate for Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency, did not have much experience working for the party, Padmaja was active in the Congress party. A general secretary of the Indian National Congress Kerala unit, she was also a member of the party’s political affairs.

Padmaja’s desertion came at a politically inopportune moment for the Congress in Kerala. Her desertion from the Congress also raised concerns about whether it would, at least in some measure, subvert the credibility of the UDF’s strident anti-BJP messaging at the hustings.

Padmaja’s entry into the BJP has buoyed the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). This has provided the CPI-M with an opportunity to project the Congress as a party that adopts the soft Hindutva line.

CPI-M Kerala secretary MV Govindan said Padmaja’s defection underscored the party’s case that “a vote for the Congress in Kerala was tantamount to a referendum for the BJP.”

The CPI-M leader sarcastically said that the successors of two prominent Congress leaders in Kerala, the late K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony, both former Chief Ministers, had deserted the party for the BJP. “More Congress leaders in Kerala are ready to follow suit at the drop of a hat”, he said

LDF convener EP Jayarajan urged the IUML to acknowledge that  Padmaja’s  defection had rendered the Congress’s secular credentials highly suspect .

BJP leadership believes that Padmaja’s entry would advantage the party in the high-stakes Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency where Suresh Gopi, is fighting against Congress and CPI nominees.