New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, March 19 The BJP on Thursday released its second list of 39 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections, fielding former state president and former Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajasekharan from the Aranmula constituency.
The veteran leader will be contesting against Health Minister Veena George, while the Congress is likely to field Youth Congress leader Abin Varkey in the Pathanamthitta district seat.
Rajasekharan had previously contested from Nemom in 2021, where the current Education Minister V Sivankutty had emerged victorious.
Senior BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan will contest from Guruvayoor.
The party has also fielded K Ranjith from Dharmadom, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is contesting.
The BJP has fielded former CPI MLA C C Mukundan from the SC-reserved Nattika constituency in Thrissur after he recently left the Communist Party over the denial of a seat, with the party preferring former MLA Geetha Gopi.
Although Mukundan had held talks with the Congress, these did not yield results, and he subsequently joined the BJP.
Former reality show contestant and social media influencer Robin Radhakrishnan has been fielded from Kundara in Kollam.
The BJP has named five women candidates in the fresh list, including Ashwini M L, president of the Kasaragod district Mahila Morcha.
The party had earlier announced 47 candidates in its first list, taking the total number of candidates declared so far to 86 out of 140 seats.
So far, the BJP has fielded 11 women candidates, including former DGP and Thiruvananthapuram councillor R Sreelekha and Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Congress chief minister K Karunakaran.
The BJP is yet to announce candidates for the Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram Central constituencies.
Other NDA allies, including Twenty20 and BDJS, have also announced their candidates.