Kochi, March 19 In a setback for NDA ally Twenty20 in Kerala ahead of the April 9 polls, the party announced on Thursday that it would withdraw the candidacies of two actress-candidates after their names were found missing from the voters' list.
However, the party announced replacement candidates in the evening.
The party withdrew the candidature of Lakshmi Priya from Perumbavoor in the Ernakulam district and Veena Nair from Ettumanoor in the Kottayam district.
Party sources said that both candidates did not have their names in the voters' list, despite having voted in previous elections.
Twenty20, in a statement, announced that Jibi Pathiykkal would replace Lakshmi Priya in Perumbavoor and Athira D Nair from the Ettumanoor Assembly constituency, replacing Veena Nair.
"The change was made after Lakshmi Priya's name was not found in the voters' list, prompting the party to withdraw her candidature," the statement said.
Pathiykkal, a former Congress functionary in Perumbavoor, later joined Twenty20. He has also served as secretary of the Jacobite Youth Association in the area.
Interestingly, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) has fielded Basil Paul, who also has a Congress background, setting up a contest involving multiple candidates with links to the grand old party.
There is also uncertainty over the candidature of Congress sitting MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly, who has reportedly threatened to contest as an independent if denied a ticket.
If that happens, Perumbavoor could witness a contest involving four leaders with Congress roots.
Meanwhile, actress Veena Nair said she had last voted in 2020 in Changanassery but had not updated her details in the Assembly electoral roll.
"When I checked the voters' list as part of the candidature process, my name was not there. I realised that the voters' list for Assembly elections and local body elections is different," she said.
She admitted that she had not made any rectifications during the SIR.
Nair said she had spoken to Twenty20 chief Sabu M Jacob regarding the issue and that the party would soon announce a replacement candidate as the deadline for filing nominations ends on March 23.
"But I will work for the party, whoever becomes the candidate. It is a party that works for common people," she said.
In the evening, Twenty20 announced Athira D Nair as the NDA candidate from the Ettumanoor Assembly constituency, replacing Nair.
Twenty20 president Sabu M Jacob said Nair, 20, is a classical musician and dancer and the youngest NDA candidate in Kerala.
She holds a master's degree in computer science and is also an entrepreneur and social media influencer.
She is a native of Ettumanoor and had worked as a teacher at a school in Mannanam for about two-and-a-half years, a party statement said.
Apart from Priya and Nair, actress Anjali Nair is set to contest from Tripunithura, while reality show participant and director Akhil Marar will contest from Thrikkakara.