BJP candidate list: Popular names missing while turncoats find place in list

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Many familiar faces disappeared from the first list of 47 candidates released by the BJP. Although it was heard that state general secretary MT Ramesh would contest from Kozhikode North, the seat went to Mahila Morcha state president Navya Haridas.

In Manalur, K.K. Aneesh Kumar replaced NDA joint convener A.N. Radhakrishnan, who contested in the constituency for the last two times. Kummanam Rajasekharan, P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, and B. Gopalakrishnan are also not in the list.

Meanwhile, apart from state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former presidents P.K. Krishnadas, V. Muraleedharan and K. Surendran, and others, including Shobha Surendran, Anoop Antony and Sandeep Vachaspati, are in the election fray.

​​CC Mukundan, incumbent MLA of Nattika, will become the BJP candidate in the constituency. C. Krishnakumar has been shifted from Palakkad to Malampuzha. Leaders who shifted allegiance to BJP recently were treated well, with C Raghunath getting the seat in Kannur and Padmaja Venagopal in Thrissur. Former Devikulam MLA and CPM leader S Rajendran will contest as BJP candidate.

Mahila Congress former state general secretary R. Rashmi, who was the UDF candidate in Kottarakkara, will now contest as a BJP candidate.