Dealing with bitter defeats one after another in electoral battles is hard, especially for a woman politician, who tends to be written off too easily. Most would give up. Bindhu Krishna, the Congress leader from Kollam chose to persist. It paid off in the Kerala assembly polls 2026 when she won by a majority of 16830 votes, defeating CPM candidate S Jayamohan in Kollam. The victory got sweeter on Sunday when she was declared a Minister in the UDF cabinet led by V D Satheesan.

She says losses never dampened her spirit. "The losses were not personal to me. These were constituencies unfavourable to the party. They asked me to contest, and I did. I don't view the losses as an outcome of my personal shortcomings," Bindhu told Onmanorama.

Though a first-time MLA, she is not lacking in experience, having worked very closely with people's problems. As the president of the Kerala Pradesh Mahila Congress for nearly six years, it was only fitting that she was honored with a ministerial post.

Bindhu, an advocate by profession, entered the state's electoral politics in 2011, contesting from Chathannoor. However, she was defeated by CPI candidate G S Jayalal by 12,402 votes.

Three years later, she tested her luck in the Lok Sabha, contesting the 2014 parliamentary elections from Attingal. But she suffered a crushing defeat, losing to CPM's A Sampath by 69,378 votes.

It would take one more loss in 2021 for her success to be delivered. When Bindhu contested from the Kollam constituency in 2021, she was defeated by CPM candidate M Mukesh. However, this time the margins narrowed to just 2,072 votes.

"Even in places that were not misaligned with the party, the prevailing circumstances did not favour us at the time. But the tight margins were an indicator that we were close to a win," she said.

For the next five years, Bindhu worked very closely on the grassroots level, reaching out to people and helping them when issues arose. "I would be available to the people in the constituency more than the MLA at the time, who was often elsewhere. This helped me connect with the people there and understand their issues," she told Onmanorama.

Bindhu had been an active participant in politics as a member of KSU since her student days. However, her stint as the president of the Kerala Pradesh Mahila Congress defined her political trajectory. "That is perhaps how people came to know about me," she said.

She had worked very closely on gender-based issues in the state and for the advancement of women. Bindhu cites the 1996 Suryanelli case as one that has been personal to her. She notes the layered injustice and double standards in how women are placed, even in cases that are meant to address their plight.

"There was a batch of suspensions issued after the case gained momentum, including that of a woman officer. But even when the men were welcomed back to service afterwards, the woman officer remained suspended. I fought really hard to ensure a fair treatment of all the officers," she told Onmanorama.

"Whoever is in power, I will raise my voice against injustice. Whether it's my party or our rivals," she added.

Bindhu's journey has been a long one. Set on persistence and perseverance. But she said that the party and its workers have backed her throughout the journey. "Even as I suffered those losses, the party stood by me. Given that I was one of the women candidates, they really wanted to see me win," she said. In fact, the rigorous campaign efforts from its members, activists and workers are a testament to this commitment.

Bindhu said that the offer to join the cabinet was no surprise to her. "It had come up before. We had discussed my possible inclusion in the cabinet in case the results were favourable," she said.

Now that their aspirations have been realised, Bindhu prepares to take the oath on Monday. On her way to greet the very party workers who made this win possible, she said that she is extremely happy with the decision. "It's wonderful news and a great recognition of the women of our state," she said. "I want to work to improve the representation of women across all sectors in the state," she added, referring to the responsibilities that the role entails.

Bindhu is likely to be given the portfolio of social justice and women's welfare.