Thrissur

Padmaja Venugopal, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Saturday invited senior Indian National Congress leader and Kannur MP K Sudhakaran to join the saffron party amid reports suggesting he was unhappy with his party’s decision not to allow sitting MPs to contest the upcoming Assembly elections.

Venugopal, daughter of Congress stalwart K Karunakaran, who herself recently left the Congress to join the BJP, said she was “not surprised” by how the party was treating Sudhakaran, claiming that the Congress had similarly “sidelined” her in the past.

She said that a leader like Sudhakaran joining the BJP was “the need of the times”.

“Wherever he goes, he will get a seat to contest in the upcoming polls. He will never be left without any support,” Venugopal told a television channel.

Her remarks come amid speculation that Sudhakaran, a former Kerala Congress chief, is unhappy with the decision of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) not to allow sitting MPs to contest the Assembly polls.

The speculation was fuelled by an emotional post by Sudhakaran on social media in which he spoke about his deep connection with Kannur.

Venugopal also said she would contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the Thrissur constituency, expressing confidence that joining the BJP had strengthened her chances.

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“I am confident of winning from Thrissur as I have faith in the people here and also because the BJP is always concerned about the party’s victory and not about who is contesting. The party will work hard to ensure the victory of its candidates. That is a huge relief for me,” she said.