BJP releases fifth list of candidates; unexpected move in Wayanad; K Surendran to compete against Rahul Gandhi

WAYANAD: The BJP on Sunday released its fifth list of 111 candidates for Lok Sabha elections. It also announced its candidates for the remaining four seats in Kerala. The BJP has taken over the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat from the BDJS. BJP state president K Surendran will contest from Wayanad as the NDA candidate. Annie Raja is the LDF candidate in the constituency. Wayanad will see a three-cornered struggle now that the BJP has decided to field K Surendran in the constituency.

The party has decided to field actor G Krishnakumar against NK Premachandran and M Mukesh in Kollam. Although Krishnakumar was earlier considered for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was named the candidate in the constituency. Krishnakumar had contested from Thiruvananthapuram Central in the 2021 assembly elections.

With the arrival of Krishnakumar, Kollam is also set to witness a three-cornered contest. Former PSC chairman KS Radhakrishnan will contest in Ernakulam. TN Sarasu is the BJP candidate in Alathur. Last time, Thushar Vellappally contested for NDA in the Wayanad constituency.

The prominent figures on the fifth list of candidates released by BJP are Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur, UP), Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut (Mandi, Himachal), serial actor Arun Govil (Meerut, UP), Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Sambalpur, Odisha), Party National Spokesperson Sambit Patra (Puri, Odisha), Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay (Tamluk, Bengal), businessman Naveen Jindal (Kurukshetra, Haryana) and Sita Soren (Dumka). Meanwhile, Maneka Gandhi's son and Pilibhit sitting MP Varun Gandhi did not find a place in the list of candidates. Naveen Jindal was given the seat just hours after he left the Congress and joined the BJP.