Wrest power in Vypin, Kayamkulam seat and Thiruvananthapuram surprise; BJP's master plan for 2026 Kerala elections

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala wing has purportedly prepared a master plan ahead of the awaited 2026 assembly elections. In a seemingly adept political manoeuvring, the Kerala leadership is likely to field dark horse Sobha Surendran from Hindu dominant Kayamkulam constituency while former union minister V Muraleedharan will get his favourite turf of Attingal. The surprise comes for K Surendran, who will likely make a switch from the Manjeswara constituency to Kazhakkoottam in Thiruvananthapuram.

The state leadership led by Rajeev Chandrasekhar is trying to take advantage of the current political situation by fielding senior leaders in winnable seats.

In the last Lok Sabha election, the BJP came first in 11 constituencies and second in 9 constituencies. The BJP performed well in the last Lok Sabha elections in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur districts. In Thiruvananthapuram, it came third only in Parassala.

As per the current report, the leadership has already started work to identify ideal candidates for the assembly elections to avoid late confusion over candidate selection.

The BJP came first in the LDF stronghold of Nemom, Kazhakkoottam, Vattiyoorkavu, Attingal, Kattakada, Thrissur, Nattika, Irinjalakuda, Puthukkad, Ollur and Manalur. It came second in Thiruvananthapuram, Kovalam, Neyyattinkara, Varkala, Haripad, Kayamkulam, Palakkad, Manjeswaram and Kasaragod. The saffron party came third by a small margin in Malampuzha, Guruvayur, Ambalappuzha, Karunagappally, Ranni, Konni, Chathannoor, Chirayinkeezhu, Nedumangad, Vamanapuram and Parassala.

The party is considering fielding Shaun George, who was at the forefront of the Munambam issue, in Vypin. However, Shaun has expressed his desire to contest in Poonjar. The names of Victor T. Thomas, who left the Kerala Congress in Thiruvalla, and Anoop Antony in Ambalappuzha are being considered.