The BJP has allotted 14 out of the 20 Lok sabha seats in Kerala for itself, 5 for the BDJS and one for the Kerala Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. BDJS will field their candidates from Wayanad, Alathur, Idukki, Thrissur and Mavelikkara constituencies while Kottayam has been allotted to Kerala Congress (P.C. Thomas).
Announcing the list on Wednesday, BJP national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao said that the central election committee will decide on the candidacy of former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan. Meanwhile, BJP leader P.K. Krishnadas ruled out any differences between state leadership over picking the candidates.
The BJP is expected to announce its list of candidates from Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls by Thursday.
The BJP state unit was unable to finalise its candidates list mainly due to the tussle over Pathanamthitta seat, which was the epicentre of the Sabarimala agitation in the recent past, as many leaders including state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai and Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam were keen to contesting from there. However, sources reported it is likely that K. Surendran or Shobha Surendran may contest from the Pathanamthitta constituency.
The central leadership has reportedly asked senior BJP leaders in the state including P.S. Sreedharan Pillai and M.T. Ramesh not to contest the elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah attended the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting held at BJP headquarters on Tuesday evening.
Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan is most likely a candidate from Thiruvanantha and Tom Vadakkan, who switched over from Congress last week, may contest from Ernakulam. BDJS president Thushar Vellappally is likely to contest from the Thrissur. BDJS or Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, which was formed in late 2015, is an ally of the BJP in Kerala and a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
This story was first published on Onmanorama
