Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 2026 — Candidates Data
— Padmaja Venugopal

🗓 Polling: 2026-04-09📊 Counting: 2026-05-04🏛 140 seats

Polling: 9 April 2026Counting: 4 May 2026140 seats · Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 2026 — Candidates Data

Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 2026 — Candidates Data›Candidate profile

Contesting fromThrissur·Thrissur District

Padmaja
Venugopal

Padmaja Venugopal

“BJP candidate for Thrissur constituency”

BJP National Democratic Alliance

Elections listed

Won

1990

Entered politics

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Political affiliation

partyBharatiya Janata Party

state unitBJP Kerala

allianceNational Democratic Alliance (NDA)

ideologyRight-of-centre, Hindutva-oriented (current party line); earlier associated with Congress’s centre-left ideology as KPCC general secretary

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Electoral record

LL•0W · 2L · 2016–2026

Year	Body	Constituency	Result	Notes
2016	Assembly	Thrissur	Lost	Contested on INC ticket; defeated by V. S. Sunil Kumar (CPI) with a notable margin.
2021	Assembly	Thrissur	Lost	Lost to CPI candidate P. Balachandran by 946 votes; a very narrow margin in a prestige seat.
2026	Assembly	Thrissur, Kerala	Contesting

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Political entry

Indian National Congress, influenced by her father K. Karunakaran’s political legacy.

Grassroots Congress worker and leader in Thrissur — Indian National Congress
Built local base in Thrissur before moving into high-level organisational roles.

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Organisational career

State

General Secretary, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC)

Indian National Congress

Held one of the senior-most organisational posts in KPCC before leaving the party.

District

President

Thrissur District Congress Committee (DCC)

From 2020

Reported as the first woman to serve as Thrissur DCC president.

National

National Council Member

Bharatiya Janata Party

From 2025-03-24

Malayalam Wikipedia records her as serving as a BJP National Council member since March 2025.

State

Senior Leader

Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala

Projected by BJP as a prominent Christian/minority and legacy leader entry from Congress.

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Personal

date of birth1960-05-26

date of birth notesSeveral reports describe her as 64 years old in March 2024, matching a 26 May 1960 birth year.

place of birthThrissur, Kerala, India

nationalityIndian

professionPolitician and social worker

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Education

Schooling: Schools in Thrissur (exact institutions not consistently documented).

Graduate

Highest qualification: Graduate

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Family

Father

K. Karunakaran

Mother

Kalyanikkutty Amma

Marital status

Married

Spouse

Venugopal

Businessman (broadly described in media)

Child

2024Daughter of former CM K. Karunakaran; her move from Congress to BJP in 2024 was seen as a symbolic blow to Congress in Kerala.

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Known for

Daughter of veteran leader and former CM K. Karunakaran.Former KPCC general secretary and first woman Thrissur DCC president.High-profile defector from Congress to BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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Sources

Last compiled: 2026-03-29

Malayalam Wikipedia entry on Padmaja Venugopal
MyNeta candidate profiles for Thrissur Assembly (2016, 2021)
StarsUnfolded and similar biographical notes on her roles and family
News reports on her joining BJP in March 2024 (ANI, The News Minute, Hindustan Times)
Recent profiles describing her as BJP National Council member from March 2025

Data compiled from publicly available sources with the assistance of AI. View constituency list.