K. C. Venugopal
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
19 June 2020 (2020-06-19)
ConstituencyRajasthan
General Secretary (Organisation) of the All India Congress Committee
Assumed office
2019 (2019)
Preceded byAshok Gehlot
General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee for Karnataka
In office
22 June 2018 (2018-06-22)  11 September 2020 (2020-09-11)
PresidentRahul Gandhi
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byRandeep Surjewala
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
31 May 2009 (2009-05-31)  23 May 2019 (2019-05-23)
Preceded byK. S. Manoj
Succeeded byA. M. Ariff
ConstituencyAlappuzha
Minister of State for Civil Aviation
In office
28 October 2012 (2012-10-28)  26 May 2014 (2014-05-26)
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byJayanthi Natarajan
Succeeded byG. M. Siddeswara
Minister of State for Power
In office
20 January 2011 (2011-01-20)  28 October 2012 (2012-10-28)
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byBharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki
Succeeded byJyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
1996 (1996)–2009 (2009)
Preceded byK. P. Ramachandran Nair
Succeeded byA. A. Shukoor
ConstituencyAlappuzha
Personal details
Born (1963-02-04) 4 February 1963
Payyanur, Kerala, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseAsha Venugopal
Children2
Parents
  • Kunjukrishnan Nambi
  • Janaki Amma
Residence(s)Alappuzha, Kerala
Alma materUniversity of Calicut
Source

K. C. Venugopal (born 4 February 1963) is an Indian politician who is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha elected from Rajasthan[1] and former member of parliament in Lower House and is a member of the Indian National Congress. He has been appointed a General Secretary of AICC and in charge of Karnataka on 29 April 2017. Later, he was given additional charge of the general secretary of the organization. He was the Minister of State for Civil Aviation & Ministry of Power[2] in the UPA Government.

Personal life

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

Political life

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]

Member of coordination committee of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance

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.).

References

  1. "Rajya Sabha elections: Congress wins two seats, BJP wins one in Rajasthan". The Tribune. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. "Press Information Bureau".
  3. http://niyamasabha.org/codes/members/venugopalkc.pdf
  4. http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/mem_1_10.htm Members of 10th KLA 1996-01
  5. http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/mem_1_11.htm Members of 11th KLA 2001-06
  6. http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/mem_1_12.htm Members of 12th KLA 2006-11
  7. "CBI Takes Over Solar Scam Probe, Case Against Top Kerala Congress Leaders". NDTV. 17 August 2021.
  8. "Opposition alliance named 'INDIA', 11-member coordination committee to decide on all important issues". The Times of India. 19 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  9. Singh, Mritunjay. "Sharad Pawar, Tejashwi, Raghav Chadha Named In I.N.D.I.A's 13-Member Coordination Panel". ABP Live. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
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