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K. Muraleedharan

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(Redirected from K. Murali)
Not to be confused with V. Muraleedharan.

In this Malayali name, the surname is Kannoth.
K. Muraleedharan
Minister for Electricity, Government of Kerala
In office
11 February 2004 – 14 May 2004
Chief MinisterA. K. Antony
Preceded byKadavoor Sivadasan
Succeeded byKadavoor Sivadasan
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
23 May 2019 (2019-05-23) – 4 June 2024 (2024-06-04)
Preceded byMullappally Ramachandran
Succeeded byShafi Parambil
ConstituencyVatakara
In office
1999–2004
Preceded byP. Sankaran
Succeeded byM. P. Veerendra Kumar
ConstituencyKozhikode
In office
1989–1996
Preceded byK. G. Adiyodi
Succeeded byM. P. Veerendra Kumar
ConstituencyKozhikode
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
2011 (2011)–2019 (2019)
Succeeded byV. K. Prasanth
ConstituencyVattiyoorkavu
President, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee
In office
2001 (2001)–2004 (2004)
Preceded byThennala Balakrishna Pillai
Succeeded byP. P. Thankachan
Chairman, KPCC Election Campaign Committee
In office
2018 (2018)–2024 (2024)
Succeeded byRamesh Chennithala[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 5, 2024 (2024-06-05)
Preceded byRamesh Chennithala
Personal details
Born (1957-05-14) 14 May 1957 (age 67)
Thrissur, Kerala, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
(1980s–2005)
(2011–Present)
Other political
affiliations		Nationalist Congress Party
(2005–2011)
SpouseJyothi Muraleedharan
RelationsPadmaja Venugopal
Children2
Parents
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Lawyer
  • Social worker

Kannoth Muraleedharan (born 14 May 1957) is an Indian National Congress politician. He was the MP from Vatakara, Kerala. He lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Thrissur constituency. 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.

Personal life

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Muraleedharan was born to K. Karunakaran and Kalyanikutty Amma in Thrissur, Kerala on 14 May 1957. His younger sister, Padmaja Venugopal, is also a politician. Their family hails from Chirakkal, Kannur. After pursuing BA from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, he qualified in LLB from The Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.[2][3]

Muraleedharan is married to Jyothi. They have two sons, Arun Narayanan and Sabari Nath.[4]

Political career

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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.[2] He was elected as Member of Parliament from the Calicut (Kozhikode) constituency in the General Elections of 1989 by defeating veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader E. K. Imbichi Bava and winning re-election in 1991 by defeating Janata Dal leader M. P. Veerendra Kumar. In the 1996 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 C. M. Ibrahim in 1999.[5] Thereafter, he held the roles of General secretary, Vice-President of Kerala Congress Committee (KPCC) and became the President of KPCC during 2001–2004.

In February 2004, Muraleedharan was appointed Minister of Power in the A. K. Antony Ministry, though he was not a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.[6] 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.[7]

In 2005, when the Karunakaran faction of the Indian National Congress party had differences with the party leadership and the United Democratic Front (UDF), some members of the party quit and formed another party named Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) (DIC(K)). They allied with the Left Democratic Front (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 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Later, Karunakaran rejoined the Congress party, while his son Muraleedharan opted to stay with the NCP, decrying his father's "betrayal".[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[10][11] 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.[10] 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.[12] He was re-elected for the second time in 2016 defeating Kummanam Rajasekharan of Bharatiya Janata Party 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 Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of 84663 votes.

In Indian general election 2024 he was a candidate of Indian National Congress party from Thrissur Constituency.[13][14]

Election candidature history
Election Year Party Constituency Opponent Result Margin
Loksabha 1989 INC Kozhikode CPI(M) E. K. Imbichi Bava Won 28,957
1991 INC Kozhikode JD(S) M.P. Veerendra Kumar Won 15,884
1996 INC Kozhikode JD(S) M.P. Veerendra Kumar Lost 38,703
1998 INC Thrissur CPI V. V. Raghavan Lost 18,409
1999 INC Kozhikode JD(S) C. M. Ibrahim Won 50,402
2009 NCP Wayanad INC M. I. Shanavas Lost 311,040
2019 INC Vatakara CPI(M) P. Jayarajan Won 84,663
2024 INC Thrissur BJP Suresh Gopi Lost 84,214
Kerala Legislative Assembly 2004 (By-election) INC Wadakkanchery CPI(M) A. C. Moideen Lost 3,715
2006 DIC Koduvally CPI(M) P. T. A. Rahim Lost 7,506
2011 INC Vattiyoorkavu Independent Cheriyan Phillip Won 16,167
2016 INC Vattiyoorkavu BJP Kummanam Rajasekharan Won 7,622
2021 INC Nemom CPI(M) V. Sivankutty Lost 19,313

Positions held

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References

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  1. ^ "Ramesh Chennithala appointed KPCC campaign committee chairman".
  2. ^ a b Kerala Legislative Assembly: Member profile
  3. ^ "13th Lok Sabha: Member Profiles". Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  4. ^ "പത്മജയെ ഞാന്‍ എതിര്‍ത്തിരുന്നു - Page 3 | mangalam.com". www.mangalam.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  5. ^ IBN Candidate profile: K Muraleedharan
  6. ^ Muraleedharan sworn in Minister[usurped] – The Hindu, 12 February 2004
  7. ^ "Kerala Government: Council of Ministers (Cabinet) 2001-2006".
  8. ^ Return of Leader [usurped] Frontline, 19 January 2008
  9. ^ "Indian Parliament Election Results 2009 (Lok Sabha polls 2009)- Kerala".
  10. ^ a b c Kerala leader K Muraleedharan refused re-entry into Congress – New Kerala/IANS, 7 August 2009
  11. ^ "Muraleedharan meets Antony", The Hindu, 21 November 2009
  12. ^ "Triangular fight in Vattiyoorkavu segment". India Today. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  13. ^ Raghunath, Arjun. "LS polls 2024: Congress' surprise move to field Muraleedharan at Thrissur creates panic in BJP camp". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  14. ^ Bureau, The Hindu (9 March 2024). "K. Muraleedharan reaches Thrissur, takes out roadshow". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 March 2024. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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