BJP Releases First List Of 47 Names For Kerala Polls

The BJP on Monday released its first list of 47 candidates for the April 9 polls, fielding three former Union ministers.

The votes for the 140-member assembly will be counted on May 4. The majority mark stands at 70.

BJP Kerala Chief and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will contest from Nemon. At the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, even as he lost to sitting three-time MP Shashi Tharoor, Chandrasekhar was leading in the Nemom Assembly segment, which gave him and the BJP confidence to contest from Nemom.

Nemom has remained one of the most politically significant constituencies in Kerala since 2016, when veteran BJP leader and former Union Minister of State O. Rajagopal scripted history by winning the seat and opening the party's account in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly for the first time.

The breakthrough victory gave the BJP a symbolic foothold in a state where it had long struggled to convert vote share into Assembly representation.

However, the seat returned to the Left fold in the 2021 Assembly election when Sivankutty defeated senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, a former Governor and ex-state president of the BJP.

The BJP's historic victory in the Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation has been a shot in the arm for its cadre and strengthened the belief that Kerala is not an unconquerable political territory for national party.

Another former Union Minister V Muraleedharan will contest from Kazhakoottam.

The party has also fielded former Union minister George Kurian from Kanjirappally constituency.

Kerala, known for its seesaw politics, has been alternating between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), but the BJP has been emerging as a major challenger.

The seesaw trend of the state was broken in 2021, when the electorate returned the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government for a second consecutive term.

According the list, PC George will contest the election from Poonjar assembly seat, R Sreelekha from Vattiyoorkavu and Padmaja Venugopal from Thrissur.

The party has fielded Sobha Surebdran from Palakkad seat, Navya Haridas from Kozhikode North and Kavitha KS from Sulthanbathery, a reserved constituency.

Raji Prasad will contest from Kunnathur seat reserved for scheduled Caste and R Rashmi will contest from Kottarakkara.