India, May 3 -- Padmaja Venugopal is a prominent political leader from Kerala and a former General Secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. The daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, she has remained a familiar face in the state's political landscape.

After parting ways with the Indian National Congress in March 2024 following differences with the state leadership, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now a member of the BJP National Council, she is contesting from the Thrissur constituency in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, making it a closely watched three-way contest against CPI and Congress candidates.

Born on October 27, 1960, in Thrissur, Padmaja Venugopal comes from a prominent political family....