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Kannoth Muraleedharan (born 14 May 1957) is an
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
politician. He was the MP from
Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...
,
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. He is the son of Congress leader K. Karunakaran. He was elected as an MP from
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
constituency (1989, 1991, 1999) and from
Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...
constituency (2019). He was elected as an MLA (2011, 2016) from Vattiyoorkkavu constituency. He lost the
2024 Lok Sabha election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...
from
Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
constituency.


Early life

Muraleedharan was born on 14 May 1957 to K. Karunakaran, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, and Kalyanikutty Amma in
Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
,
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. His younger sister, Padmaja Venugopal, is also a politician. Their family hails from Chirakkal,
Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...
. 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 The Seva Dal is an organization of the Indian National Congress. The organization has a chapter in all the states of India. The members of the organization are known for wearing the Gandhi topi. It is headed by a Chief Organiser Shri Lalji Des ...
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) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...
leader EK Imbichi Bava and winning re-election in
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
by defeating
Janata Dal Janata Dal () was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha on 11 October 1988—the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Na ...
leader MP Veerendra Kumar. In the
1996 Indian General Election General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha, eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Jan ...
, he lost his seat to M. P. Veerendra Kumar and subsequently failed in
Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
Loksabha seat in his comeback attempt in the 1998 election, before regaining
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
seat by defeating Janata Dal national leader and former Union Minister CM Ibrahim in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
.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 Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian lawyer, attorney and statesman who served as the Minister of Defence of India from 2006 to 2014, making him the longest serving Defence Minister in India. He previously served as ...
Ministry, though he was not a member of the
Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...
. He was required to win a seat within six months to continue as the minister but lost in by-election from
Wadakkancherry Wadakkancherry () is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. It is the headquarters of Talappilly Taluk. Wadakkanchery obtained municipality status from the government by merging with the Mund ...
. 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 Koduvally is a major municipal town in Kozhikode district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the National Highway 766 and is about 21 km northeast of Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along ...
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 Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...
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 Kummanam Rajasekharan (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian politician and former List of governors of Mizoram, governor of Mizoram (2018–2019). He began his political career as an activist of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Sangh Pariva ...
of BJP by a margin of 7622 votes. In Indian general election 2019 he has been elected from
Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...
with a tremendous margin by defeating P Jayarajan of
CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...
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 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
MP
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
– by defeating
CPIM The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
leader E. K. Imbichi Bava *
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
MP
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
– by defeating JDS leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar *
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
MP
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
– by defeating JDS leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar *
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
– MLA
Vattiyoorkavu Vattiyoorkavu is located in the north-eastern side of Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest c ...
– by defeating Cherian Philip *
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
– MLA
Vattiyoorkavu Vattiyoorkavu is located in the north-eastern side of Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest c ...
– by defeating BJP leader
Kummanam Rajasekharan Kummanam Rajasekharan (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian politician and former List of governors of Mizoram, governor of Mizoram (2018–2019). He began his political career as an activist of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Sangh Pariva ...
*
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
– MP from
Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...
– by defeating
CPIM The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
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