Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 17: The BJP central leadership on Monday announced its candidates for seven of the 14 constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district, with few surprises. The party aims to secure more than one seat in the capital region.

As widely speculated, BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar will contest from Nemom, while former DGP R Sreelekha will fight from Vattiyoorkkavu, two seats expected to see intense triangular contests. Former Union Minister V Muraleedharan has been fielded in Kazhakkoottam, and national executive member P K Krishnadas will contest from Kattakkada for the fourth consecutive time. Both Muraleedharan and Krishnadas had already kick-started their campaigns through protests against sitting MLAs in their constituencies.

Other announced candidates include P Sudheer (Attingal), Yuvraj Gokul (Nedumangad), and Gireesh Neyyar (Parassala). Many of these constituencies fall within the Thiruvananthapuram corporation limits, where the party had performed strongly in local body elections.

The BJP is expected to announce candidates for the remaining seven seats—Varkala, Chirayinkeezhu, Vamanapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Aruvikkara, Kovalam, and Neyyattinkara—by Wednesday. For the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, multiple names are reportedly under consideration, with BJP city district president Karamana Jayan publicly expressing interest.

However, the announcement has caused friction with NDA ally Kerala Kamaraj Congress (KKC), which had sought the Parassala seat to leverage Nadar community votes. KKC chief Vishnupuram Chandrasekharan warned that denying them the seat could have implications in other constituencies, highlighting potential intra-alliance tensions.