K. C. Venugopal

K. C. Venugopal was born on 4 February 1963 to Kunjukrishnan Nambi and Janaki Amma in Payyanur, Kannur District of Kerala.[3]

K. C. Venugopal taking charge as the Minister of Power in Manmohan Singh ministry.

He came to active politics through the Student Movement of the Indian National Congress. He became the State President of the Kerala Students Union and State President of the Indian Youth Congress, He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Alappuzha Constituency in 1996, 2001 and 2006.[4][5][6] He served as the Minister for Dewaswom and Tourism in the Oommen Chandy Ministry from 2004-06. He contested the General Elections to Loksabha from Alappuzha Constituency in 2009 and won with a good margin.

For Mr. Venugopal, Kannur has not been his political gravitational field ever since he politically relocated himself to Alappuzha following his election victory from the Alappuzha Assembly constituency in 1996. His success in the two Assembly elections in 2001 and 2006 and his election to the Lok Sabha in the 2009 Parliament election have only completed the process of his political expatriation.

However, he always kept in touch with his home district. The 56-year-old Congress leader, who served as Minister for Tourism and Devaswom in the United Democratic Front (UDF) government during 2004-06, began his political career when he was a student of the Payyanur College.

Since then he has been on the right trajectory of his political career in his party. From being a president of the Payyanur College unit of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) to his induction in the Union Cabinet, it was a long journey for a leader of his age. In between, he served as State President of the KSU (1987–92) and the Youth Congress (1992–2000), among others.

A post-graduate in mathematics, Venugopal owes his rapid political evolution to the late leader K. Karunakaran. His loyalty to the leader when the latter was at the helm of Congress affairs in the State helped him step on the political ladder without much ado. Venugopal was also a volleyball player during his college days. He played for the Payyanur College and the Calicut University.

Mr. Venugopal's supporters say that though he has moved to Alappuzha, he took a personal interest in various tourism projects in his home district when he was Tourism Minister. The Town Square, the renovated Gandhi Park at Payyanur, approval of the proposals for the development of beaches in the district, and the eco-tourism project for Paithalmala are some among them.

On 29 April 2017, he was chosen as general secretary of All India Congress Committee. He also was made in charge of Congress War Rooms in many elections. He was elected from Rajasthan as a Member of parliament Rajya Sabha on 19 June 2020.[7]

He has been appointed as a member of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at its Mumbai convention on 1 September 2023.[8][9]The coordination committee will decide the national agenda, common campaign issues and common program of the country's main opposition alliance (I.N.D.I.A.).

• LS Biodata
• 2009 Ele.