Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)on Monday released its first list of candidates for the upcomingKerala Assembly elections, announcing nominees for 47 constituencies across the state.
The announcement came a day after the Election Commission declared the schedule for Assembly elections in four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Kerala will vote in a single phase on April 9 and the counting of votes will take place on May 4. The term of the current Kerala Assembly ends on May 23.
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Senior leaders in the fray
Among the prominent names in the list is Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who will contest from the Nemom Assembly seat. Former Union minister V Muraleedharan has been fielded from Kazhakoottam, and Union minister George Kurian will contest from Kanjirappally.
Other well-known candidates include Sobha Surendran from Palakkad, Padmaja Venugopal from Thrissur and former DGP R Sreelekha from Vattiyoorkavu. Veteran leader PK Krishnadas will contest from Kattakkada.
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Candidates announced for northern and central Kerala
The party has fielded K Surendran from Manjeshwar, Manulal Meloth from Udma, and Balraj M from Kanhangad.
AP Gangadharan will contest from Payyannur, KK Vinod Kumar has been nominated from Azhikode and C Raghunath from Kannur.
P Shyam Raj will contest from Mananthavady and Kavitha AS from Sulthanbathery. K Dileep has been named from Vadakara and Ramadas Manaleri from Kuttiadi.
Other candidates include CP Vipin Chandran (Nadapuram), CR Praphul Krishnan (Quilandy), M Mohanan Master (Perambra), CP Satheeshan (Balusseri) and T Devadas (Elathur).
In Kozhikode district, Navya Haridas will contest from Kozhikode North, T Raneesh from Kozhikode South, KP Prakash Babu from Beypore and VK Sajeevan from Kunnamangalam.
Candidates from central Kerala constituencies
Sanku T Das has been fielded from Shornur and Major Ravi from Ottappalam. C Krishnakumar will contest from Malampuzha. K Balakrishnan will contest from Chelakkara and KK Aneesh Kumar from Manalur.
Santosh Cherakulam will represent the party from Irinjalakuda. S Rajendran has been nominated from Devikulam.
Candidates from southern Kerala
Shone George will contest from Pala and K Ajith from Vaikom. PC George has been fielded from Poonjar.
Arun Anirudhan will contest from Ambalappuzha, while Sandeep Vachaspathi has been nominated from Haripad and MV Gopakumar from Chengannur.
Anoop Antony Joseph will contest from Thiruvalla, Jithin Dev from Karunagappally and Raji Prasad from Kunnathur.
Other candidates include R Reshmi from Kottarakkara, BB Gopakumar from Chathannoor, P Sudheer from Attingal and Yuvaraj Gokul from Nedumangad. |
