New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, March 21 The BJP has fielded its district president, Karamana Jayan, in Thiruvananthapuram, as it released a fresh list of 11 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections on Saturday.
With this latest list, the BJP has now announced 97 candidates for the April 9 polls.
Jayan will be contesting against actor Sudheer Karamana, who is contesting as an independent backed by the LDF (Left Democratic Front), and Communist Marxist Party (CMP) and UDF leader C P John.
The incumbent MLA, Antony Raju of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress (JKC), an LDF ally, was disqualified after being convicted and sentenced by a magistrate's court in a case related to tampering with evidence.
Another prominent name in the list is businessman S Rajasekharan Nair, who will be contesting from Neyyattinkara.
He had contested from the same constituency in the 2021 Assembly elections and came in third behind CPI(M) leader K Ansalan and Congress leader R Selvaraj.
This time, he will be contesting against incumbent MLA Ansalan and Congress candidate N Sakthan.
The BJP has also fielded B S Anoop in the SC-reserved Chirayinkeezhu constituency and R S Arun Raj in Chadayamangalam, who joined the party after being denied a ticket by the Congress.
TN Suresh, who joined the BJP after leaving the RJD, will be contesting from Kovalam.
Actor Vivek Gopan will be contesting from Aruvikkara.
In 2021, he contested the election from Chavara in the Kollam district.
Raveendranath Vakathanam will be contesting from Puthuppally, a Congress stronghold where incumbent MLA Chandy Oommen, son of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, is in the fray.
The BJP has also fielded V Ratheesh in Peerumade, Ajimon in the SC-reserved Mavelikkara, Pandalam Prathapan in the SC-reserved Adoor and K R Rajesh in Chavara.
Other NDA allies, including Twenty20 and BDJS, have also announced their candidates recently.
Prominent BJP leaders have already begun filing their nominations, with the last date for submission being March 23.