The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 47 candidates for the upcoming Kerala Legislative Assembly elections.
Among the prominent candidates, party president and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will contest from Nemom Assembly constituency, while former Union minister V Muraleedharan will seek the seat from Kazhakuttom.
Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying George Kurian will contest the election from Kanjirapally constituency. Former BJP state presidents K Surendran and PK Krishnadas will contest again from Manjeswaram and Kattakada, where they contested unsuccessfully in 2021.
The list was finalized by the BJP’s central election committee chaired by party president Nitin Nabin. Notably, it includes a mix of prominent leaders, political defectors and new entrants.
The party fielded political leaders who left their former parties in the constituencies they previously represented. Former CPI(M) MLA S. Rajendran will contest from Devikulam while former CPI MLA K. Ajith will contest from Vaikom.
Veteran leader PC George will return to the hustings in an attempt to wrest back the Poonjar constituency, which he represented five times in the past, while his son Shone George was fielded from Pala.
Former Director General of Police (DGP) R. Sreelekha, currently a councilor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, will contest from Vattiyurkavu.
Party state general secretary Sobha Surendran will contest from Palakkad while Padmaja Venugopal is also in the fray from Thrissur. Mahila Morcha state president Navya Haridas will contest from Kozhikode North. Filmmaker Major Ravi will contest from Ottappalam constituency.
The list also includes Manulal Meloth (Uduma), Balraj M. (Kanhangad), AP Gangadharan (Payyannur), KK Vinod Kumar (Azhikode), C. Raghunath (Kannur), P. Shyam Raj (Mananthavady), Kavitha AS (Sulthan Bathery), K.CPttiukar Dileep Ramada (Vada) Vipin Chandran (Nadapuram), CR Praphul Krishnan (Koyilandy), M. Mohanan. (Perambra), CP Satheeshan (Balussery), T. Devadas (Elathur), T. Raneesh (Kozhikode South), KP Prakash Babu (Beypore), VK Sajeevan (Kunnamangalam), Sanku T. Das (Shornur), C. Krishnakumar (Malampuzha) Achakmare Ch. (Manalur).
Others in the fray are Santhosh Cherakulam (Iringalakuda), Arun Anirudhan (Ambalappuzha), Sandeep Vachaspathi (Haripad), MV Gopakumar (Chengannur), Anoop Antony Joseph (Thiruvalla), VS Jithin Dev (Karunagapally), Raji Prasad (Kunagutara), RBBKopakumar (Chathannoor), P. Sudheer (Attingal), Yuvaraj Gokul (Nedumangad) and Gireesh Neyyar (Parasala).
The party, which won only one seat in the past when its veteran leader O. Rajagopal successfully contested for Nemo in 2016, hopes to position the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as a stable third force in a political environment dominated by the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front.
Apart from aiming to win a handful of seats, the BJP is also trying to increase its national vote share by expanding its support base. It also hopes to convert its political gains at the local level into milestones in the assembly elections, especially in the capital district where the NDA first won power in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Published – 16 March 2026 19:52 IST
