Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of late Congress stalwart K. Karunakaran and a member of the Kerala unit’s political affairs committee, joined the BJP on Thursday at the party headquarters in Delhi.

Padmaja blamed the Congress for her exit and accused state leaders of ensuring her defeat in the three elections she contested — two of them for the Thrissur Assembly constituency and one for the Lok Sabha.

The surprise move by the senior Congress leader has further shrilled the CPM’s poll pitch about the Congress becoming a supply chain for the BJP.

“Dozens of Congress leaders are joining the BJP. That includes former chief ministers, working presidents, general secretaries and national leaders,” CPM state secretary M.V. Govindan told reporters.

“A.K. Antony’s son is already with them (the BJP). Now K. Karunakaran’s daughter is also heading that way. The Congress party is fast losing its trust among the people,” he added.

To explain her decision, Padmaja cited the 1952 epic play, Ningalenne Communistaki (You made me a Communist) — still a reference point on how communism took root in Kerala.

“Like they said ‘You made me a Communist’, I can only say ‘You made me BJP’,” Padmaja said in Malayalam.

Padmaja alleged the party’s leaders ensured her defeat. “I have my answers. They gave me seats and defeated me. It’s not the Marxists or the BJP who defeated me. It was the Congress,” she said.

Padmaja said she was joining the BJP “unconditionally because I want to work with peace of mind”.

Her elder brother and Lok Sabha member K. Muraleedharan termed the move as “treachery”. “This kind of treachery is happening when we are close to the elections. What else can I call it other than treachery?” Muraleedharan reacted to reporters on Thursday morning.

“My father’s soul will never forgive her for going to a communal party. That’s why I have severed all relations with her… I cannot compromise with anyone who cheated the party, even if she is my sister,” declared an upset Muraleedharan.

He said her switch to the BJP would not affect his prospects in the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency. “The voters of Vadakara know me and the fact that I will never compromise with communalism.”

While there is no official confirmation, Congress leader Bindu Krishna claimed Padmaja’s husband, Venugopal, had been questioned by a central agency.