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BJP announces first list of 47 candidates for Kerala elections
BJP announced 47 candidates for Kerala assembly elections, including Rajeev Chandrasekhar and George Kurian, aiming for a stronger presence in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala assembly elections on April 9, fielding state BJP chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram district and sitting Union minister of state George Kurian from Kanjirappally.
Nemom, which O Rajagopal won in 2016, is the only constituency the BJP has ever won in the coastal state. Currently, the seat is held by sitting general education minister V Sivankutty, who was renominated by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 local body polls, the BJP enjoyed a lead in the constituency.
Other senior leaders who were fielded include former state chief K Surendran from Manjeshwar, former Union minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan from Kazhakootam, and state general secretary Sobha Surendran from Palakkad.
State general secretary Anoop Antony, considered close to Chandrasekhar, was fielded from Thiruvalla.
In all, the party nominated seven women, six members from the scheduled castes and two members from the scheduled tribes. The party’s women candidates include former state police chief and current Thiruvananthapuram municipal councillor R Sreelekha in Vattiyoorkavu, Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of late Congress chief minister K Karunakaran, from Thrissur, and BJP state women unit chief Navya Haridas -- who fought against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad in the Lok Sabha bypoll -- from Kozhikode North.
Father-son duo PC George and Shone George, who joined the BJP in 2024, were accommodated in Poonjar and Pala constituencies, respectively. 74-year-old PC George is a former seven-time lawmaker who had stints with several parties, including Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (M).
Leaders who were denied tickets in their parties and subsequently joined the BJP were also accommodated. R Reshmi, who left the Congress, and K Ajith, who left the Communist Party of India, were fielded from Kottarakkara and Vaikkom constituencies, respectively.
CC Mukundan, sitting CPI MLA from Nattika who exited the party after being denied a ticket, joined the BJP on Monday. He is expected to be fielded from Nattika on a BJP ticket.
The BJP is expected to fight on 90-100 seats in the 140-member assembly while its allies Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), Twenty-20 and Kamaraj Congress are slated to get the remaining seats.
Member parties of the LDF including CPI(M), CPI, NCP, ISJD, Kerala Congress (M) and UDF partner RSP have announced most of their candidates. The Congress and the IUML are yet to announce their candidates.
In Kerala, the only state ruled by the Left, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is aiming to beat back a storm of corruption allegations and anti-incumbency, and defeat the surging United Democratic Front (UDF), and the BJP that is looking for a toehold in the southern state.
