The BJP released its third list of candidates for 11 seats in the upcoming Kerala assembly elections on Saturday.
According to the list, actor Vivek Gopan will contest from Aruvikkara, while entrepreneur S Rajasekharan Nair, who had unsuccessfully contested as a BJP candidate from Neyyattinkara in the 2021 assembly elections, has been reallocated to the same seat.
The keenly watched Thiruvanananthapuram Central seat has been allocated to BJP Thiruvananathapuram city president Karamana Jayan.
Two former Congress leaders, BS Anoop and RS Arun Raj, who recently joined the BJP, also figure in the list. B.S. Anoop, who was the Congress candidate from Chirayinkeezhu in the 2021 polls, has been fielded from the same constituency, while RS Arun Raj will seek a mandate from Chadayamangalam.
TN Suresh, who joined the BJP after leaving the RJD, has been allocated the Kovalam seat.
Other candidates in the third list are: V Ratheesh (Peerumade), Raveendranathan Vakathanam (Puthupally), Ajimon (Mavelikkara), Pandalam Prathapan (Adoor) and KR Rajesh (Chavara).
Meanwhile, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday filed his nomination papers from the Nemom constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections. He filed his papers in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
Speaking to the media, Bhajanlal Sharma said he witnessed strong enthusiasm among BJP workers in Kerala. He expressed confidence that the party would perform well in the elections and emerge as a significant political force in the state.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister accompanied BJP candidates during the filing of nomination papers in Vattiyoorkavu (R Sreelekha), Kazhakkoottam (V Muraleedharan) and Kattakada (PK Krishnadas).
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel joined Palakkad BJP candidate Sobha Surendran, Thrissur candidate Padmaja Venugopal, Manalur candidate K K Aneesh Kumar and Nattika candidate C C Mukundan in filing their nomination papers.
It is learnt that the state BJP leadership is trying to rope in Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis for campaigning in the coming days.