The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its list of 47 candidates for the forthcoming Kerala Assembly elections. The party has chosen a mix of experienced politicians and notable figures to contest in various constituencies across the state. Among the key faces, former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will fight from the Nemom seat. Another senior leader, K Surendran, has been named as the BJP candidate for the Manjeshwar constituency. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly Election, Surendran lost the Manjeshwar Assembly constituency by just 855 votes against Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate AKM Ashraf. He lost the seat in 2016 and 2011 as well.
The list also features Sobha Surendran, the former national president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha, who will contest from Palakkad. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly Election, Sobha Surendran contested the Kazhakkoottam constituency in the Thiruvananthapuram district and lost to Kadakampally Surendran of CPI-M by 23,497 votes. In Kozhikode North, the party has fielded Navya Haridas, while Padmaja Venugopal will stand from the Thrissur seat. Venugopal is the daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress stalwart K Karunakaran.
Veteran leader V Muraleedharan, who has served as a Union minister, is the BJP candidate from Kazhakoottam. Additionally, PC George has been given the ticket to contest from Poonjar. Out of these 47 candidates, seven are women.
The announcement reflects the party's strategy to balance seasoned leaders with new faces in its bid to strengthen its presence in Kerala’s political landscape.
Here're the key candidates and their seats
- K Surendran: Manjeshwar
- Navya Haridas: Kozhikode North
- Advocate KP Prakash Bapu: Beypore
- C Krishnakumar: Malampuzha
- Sobha Surendran: Palakkad
- Padmaja Venugopal: Thrissur
- George Kurian: Kanjirappally
- PC George: Poonjar
- Rajeev Chandrasekhar: Nemom
- R Sreelekha: Vattiyoorkavu
- PK Krishnadas: Kattakkada
- V Muraleedharan: Kazhakoottam
- Advocate P Sudheer: Attingal
- Anoop Antony Joseph: Thiruvalla
- T Raneesh: Kozhikode South
- S Rajendran: Devikulam
- MV Gopakumar: Chengannur
- VK Sanjeevan: Kunnamangalam
- Shone George: Pala
- C Raghunath: Kannur
ISJD declares candidates for three seats
The India Socialist Janata Dal (ISJD), which split from the Janata Dal (Secular) in Kerala, has also announced its candidates for three constituencies.
Kerala’s Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty, however, will not be contesting this election. Speaking at a press meet, he stated that the party will finalise its candidate for the Kovalam seat by Tuesday.
Sitting MLA Mathew T Thomas will contest from Thiruvalla, while Murugadas has been named the candidate for Chittoor in Palakkad. Sabu George will represent the party from Ernakulam.
Earlier in January, leaders of the Kerala unit of JD(S) merged with the newly formed ISJD. The move came as JD(S) in the state had traditionally been associated with the LDF, despite the party being an ally of the NDA at the national level.
About Kerala Assembly Election
The voting in Kerala will take place in a single phase for all 140 Assembly seats. The voting will take place on April 9. The result will be declared on May 4 (Monday).
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