In Thrissur, Kerala, the children of prominent political leaders have successfully entered state politics as MPs, MLAs, and ministers, even during their fathers' periods of influence.
However, this has been less common among daughters. Padmaja Venugopal, the daughter of late Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, is an exception, although she hasn't yet won an election.
Padmaja entered electoral politics when "Leader," as Karunakaran was respectfully known, was still shaping the political landscape of the state.
Despite contesting in Mukundapuram, a traditional Congress stronghold, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, she lost due to the growing factionalism within the party at the time.
The same factionalism also affected her prospects when she contested Assembly elections in 2016 and 2021 as a Congress candidate.
This time, she is hoping for a better outcome from this central Kerala Assembly constituency, not as a Congress candidate, but as a BJP candidate.
Although she quit the Congress in 2024, citing lack of support, Padmaja is relying on her family's long political legacy in Thrissur, the cultural capital of the state, as well as the BJP's growing vote share in the region.
The BJP also secured a significant breakthrough in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning the Thrissur seat with actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi as its candidate.
However, she faces a tough contest from the Left candidate, Alankode Leelakrishnan, and the Congress nominee, Rajan Pallan.
Leelakrishnan, a noted poet and writer, aims to continue the Left's electoral success in the seat, while Pallan is focused on building on the Congress party's recent performance in the Thrissur Corporation elections.
Raghunath C Menon, the BJP's Thrissur mandalam president and a corporation councillor, believes that Padmaja will "definitely win," citing her narrow defeat in 2021.
Menon stated that there are approximately 1.6 lakh registered voters in the constituency, and about 1.2 lakh are expected to cast their votes.
"We need just 45 per cent of the votes to win here, and we are confident of achieving that. The direct contest is between us and the UDF. The CPI candidate is relatively weak," he told