On Friday, the BJP’s State leadership welcomed Padmaja Venugopal to the party’s organisational fold. A galaxy of top leaders gathered at the BJP’s State headquarters to formally welcome Ms. Venugopal.
Earlier, hundreds of BJP workers carrying party flags showered Ms. Venugopal with floral petals as she stepped out of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Union Minister of State for IT Rajiv Chandrasekhar; Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan; BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar; and BJP State president K. Surendran were present.
Speaking to mediapersons, Ms. Venugopal said she had mentally distanced herself from the Congress since 2021. She felt shunned by the party’s leadership, including the breed of top leaders her father and former Chief Minister K.Karunakaran had brought into the party, catalysing their political rise in the organisation and public life.
Ms. Venugopal said she had joined the BJP without setting any preconditions. She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, welfare, and development agenda had drawn her to the BJP incrementally.
“I needed a space to exist politically. I have been in public life since my teens. Politics is in my blood. And the BJP provided me with that much-needed room,” she said.
Ms. Venugopal said the Congress was a rudderless ship. It lacked a leader who could provide direction, galvanise workers, and inspire them. She said more Congress leaders in Kerala would defect to the BJP.
