K. Muraleedharan

Kannoth Muraleedharan (born 14 May 1957) is an Indian National Congress politician. He was the MP from Vatakara, Kerala. He is the son of Congress leader K. Karunakaran. He was elected as an MP from Kozhikode constituency (1989, 1991, 1999) and from Vatakara constituency (2019). He was elected as an MLA (2011, 2016) from Vattiyoorkkavu constituency. He lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Thrissur constituency.

Early life

Muraleedharan was born on 14 May 1957 to K. Karunakaran, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, and Kalyanikutty Amma in Thrissur, Kerala. His younger sister, Padmaja Venugopal, is also a politician. Their family hails from Chirakkal, Kannur.

Muraleedharan studied at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram. After pursuing a BA degree from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, he qualified in LLB from The Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Muraleedharan is married to Jyothi. They have two sons, Arun Narayanan and Sabari Nath.

Political career

Muraleedharan started his political career within the Congress party as a Seva Dal worker. Thereafter, he held the posts of District chairman and State Chief of Kerala Seva Dal.Kerala Legislative Assembly: Member profile
/ref> He was elected as Member of Parliament from the Calicut (Kozhikode) constituency in the General Elections of 1989 by defeating veteran CPI(M) leader EK Imbichi Bava and winning re-election in 1991 by defeating Janata Dal leader MP Veerendra Kumar. In the 1996 Indian General Election, he lost his seat to M. P. Veerendra Kumar and subsequently failed in Thrissur Loksabha seat in his comeback attempt in the 1998 election, before regaining Kozhikode seat by defeating Janata Dal national leader and former Union Minister CM Ibrahim in 1999.IBN Candidate profile: K Muraleedharan
/ref> Thereafter, he held the roles of General secretary, Vice-President of KPCC and became the President of KPCC during 2001–2004.

In February 2004, Muraleedharan was appointed Minister of Power in the AK Antony Ministry, though he was not a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He was required to win a seat within six months to continue as the minister but lost in by-election from Wadakkancherry. Subsequently, he resigned in May that year. He is the only state Minister who was never MLA and never faced the legislative assembly.

In 2005, when the Karunakaran faction of the INC party had differences with the party leadership and the UDF, some members of the party quit and formed another party named DIC(K). They allied with the LDF for the local panchayat elections of 2005 and had some success.

However, for the Kerala Assembly elections of 2006, DIC(K) made a pact with UDF as LDF declined to make any electoral arrangements with DIC(K). DIC(K) contested in 17 constituencies but managed to get elected only from one seat mostly because of grassroots level cross-voting by Congress. Muralidharan lost the election in Koduvally constituency to P.T.A. Rahim.

With the future of the DIC(K) party untenable, some party members of the DIC(K) returned to the Congress party whilst others, including Karunakaran and Muraleedharan, decided instead to join the NCP.

Later, Karunakaran rejoined the Congress party, while his son Muraleedharan opted to stay with the NCP, decrying his father's "betrayal". Muraleedharan contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from the Wayanad constituency under the NCP ticket, but came only in third place, behind the Congress party and the CPI.

In August 2009, he was expelled from the NCP and sacked as state chief of the party, as he openly expressed his desire to rejoin the Congress party.Kerala leader K Muraleedharan refused re-entry into Congress
– ''New Kerala''/IANS, 7 August 2009 He was subsequently refused re-entry into the Congress party, the party leadership stating that the disparaging comments he had made about the party leadership whilst in opposition were too big a barrier to his re-joining. Muraleedharan pledged that he would "wait for any length of time" for the party to change its mind and readmit him, while his father Karunakaran stated that he would take up the matter with the national leadership of the Congress party, if necessary. He was readmitted to the Congress party in February 2011, after his father died, and was given a ticket to contest the Assembly election from the Vattiyurkavu Assembly constituency (former Thiruvananthapuram North Constituency). Subsequently, he won his first assembly election after he defeated ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) supported independent candidate Cherian Philip by a margin of over 16,167 votes on 14 May 2011. He was re-elected for the second time in 2016 defeating Kummanam Rajasekharan of BJP by a margin of 7622 votes.

In Indian general election 2019 he has been elected from Vatakara with a tremendous margin by defeating P Jayarajan of CPI(M) by a margin of 84663 votes.

In Indian general election 2024 he was a candidate of Indian National Congress party from Thrissur Constituency.

Positions held

* 1989 – MP Kozhikode– by defeating CPIM leader E. K. Imbichi Bava
* 1991 – MP Kozhikode– by defeating JDS leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar
* 1999 – MP Kozhikode– by defeating JDS leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar
* 2011 – MLA Vattiyoorkavu– by defeating Cherian Philip
* 2016 – MLA Vattiyoorkavu– by defeating BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan
* 2019 – MP from Vatakara – by defeating CPIM leader P. Jayarajan

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muraleedharan, K.
Politicians from Thrissur
Malayali politicians
1957 births
Living people
People from Kozhikode district
Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala
India MPs 1989–1991
Nationalist Congress Party politicians from Kerala
India MPs 1991–1996
India MPs 1999–2004
Lok Sabha members from Kerala
Kerala MLAs 2011–2016
Kerala MLAs 2016–2021
India MPs 2019–2024
Presidents of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee