Thiruvananthapuram, February 18 – The Kerala BJP leadership has intensified preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, finalizing a preliminary list of 35 constituencies.
The list, developed during their state election committee meeting, will now be submitted to the central leadership, with three potential candidates identified for each seat.
While some constituencies may still see changes, key figures are already actively campaigning on the ground.
State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is expected to contest from Nemom, the party's stronghold in recent elections.
Union Minister V. Muraleedharan is likely to contest from Kazhakkoottam, while former state chief K. Surendran has been suggested for Manjeswaram after internal discussions.
Elsewhere, names like Shobha Surendran, M.T. Suresh, C. Krishnakumar, actor G. Krishnakumar, R. Sreelekha, and Karamana Jayan have emerged for the 35 seats.
However, the overall electoral situation highlights the scale of the task ahead.
The BJP's only victory in the 140-member Kerala Assembly was in 2016, when veteran leader O. Rajagopal won Nemom.
In 2021, the seat went to the CPI(M), with the Congress relegated to third place.
Trends in vote-share present a mixed picture.
The BJP secured 12.41 per cent in the 2021 Assembly elections, and then sharply increased to 19.24 per cent in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, boosted by actor Suresh Gopi's surprise win in Thrissur.
However, momentum proved inconsistent. Although the BJP won the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation for the first time in the December local body elections, its statewide vote share dipped to 14.71 per cent.
Against this backdrop, the leadership is proceeding cautiously with formal announcements, aiming for coordinated declarations alongside other states with upcoming elections.
With allies Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and Twenty20 pressing for seat demands, negotiations will follow internal assessments.
For the BJP, the shortlist represents an organizational push, but translating incremental vote gains into Assembly seats remains the central challenge, as in the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP candidates managed to achieve second place in just eight seats.
