New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, March 16 With Kerala set to go to the polls on April 9 to elect a new 140-member Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 47 candidates following meetings of the party’s Central Election Committee.
The list features a mix of senior leaders, new entrants, political turncoats and a few prominent personalities.
Union Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian has been fielded from the Kanjirapally constituency in his home district of Kottayam.
A notable feature of the list is the inclusion of the father-son duo of veteran politician P. C. George and his son Shone George.
Seven-time former legislator P.C. George, who joined the BJP last year, has been fielded from his home turf, Poonjar, while Shone George will contest from the neighbouring Pala, both in Kottayam district.
During his long political career, P.C. George has been associated with several factions of the Kerala Congress and has served both in the ruling front and the opposition benches.
After multiple terms as MLA, he lost in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Another interesting candidate is former National Security Guard (NSG) commando and actor-director Major Ravi, who is known for films based largely on military themes.
A member of the team that tracked down the assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ravi entered the Malayalam film industry in 1999 after retirement from service and later directed around ten films.
He will test the political waters from Ottapalam in Palakkad.
The list also includes several political turncoats. R. Reshmi, who contested the Kottarakkara seat as a Congress candidate in 2021, has been given the same constituency by the BJP.
Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran, who unsuccessfully contested the Thrissur seat as a Congress candidate in both 2016 and 2021 before joining the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, will now contest from the same constituency as the BJP candidate.
Among other prominent entrants are three-time former CPI-M legislator S. Rajendran, who will contest from Devikulam in Idukki, and two-time CPI legislator K. Ajith, who has been fielded from Vaikom.
State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also figures in the first list along with two of his predecessors, P. K. Krishnadas and former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan.
Another notable candidate is R. Sreelekha, Kerala’s first woman Director General of Police. After her retirement, she recently joined the BJP and was elected as a ward councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
She has now been fielded from Vattiyoorkavu, an important constituency in the state capital.
The BJP hopes that the mix of seasoned leaders, newcomers, and high-profile entrants will strengthen its electoral prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls.
In the outgoing Assembly, the BJP had no representation as it lost the only seat that they won at the 2016 assembly polls.
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