Karunakaran daughter quits Congress for BJP

Daughter of former Kerala CM K Karunakaran and a Congress leader, Padmaja Venugopal, on Thursday joined BJP, saying she was not happy with the grand old party for years and it lacked a strong leadership.

Venugopal joined BJP in the presence of senior party leaders, including its Kerala in-charge and ex-Union minister Prakash Javadekar.

After joining, she said she was happy to have joined BJP but a "little bit tense also" because she stood with Congress for years. "I decided to quit as I was not happy with Congress for so many years, especially since last assembly polls in Kerala," she told reporters.

She said she tried to reach out to Congress top brass several times to discuss her grievances but was never given appointment. "There should be a strong leadership in every party. In Congress, there is no leadership," she added.