Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP is preparing new strategies to make the lotus bloom in the Assembly elections. The party plans to field state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar himself to capture the Nemom seat, which it had lost. The new leadership is also considering shifting Kummanam Rajasekharan—whom the RSS had been interested in contesting from Nemom—to Aranmula instead.

With the Assembly polls coming right after the local body elections, the BJP is making elaborate preparations. The party hopes that getting ready early could help reopen the “locked” Nemom account. A probable candidates list has been drawn up under the leadership of the state president. The top priority is to win back the Nemom constituency. BJP assesses that Kummanam, brought in by the RSS after resigning as Governor to win Nemom, has little chance there this time. Therefore, the most winnable option for Nemom would be to field state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar himself. Kummanam may be shifted to Aranmula seat.

Another potential winning constituency is Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram. If the UDF fields K Muraleedharan in Vattiyoorkavu, the BJP’s plan is to field his sister, Padmaja Venugopal, as the rival candidate. If K Muraleedharan does not contest, Padmaja Venugopal will make her electoral debut in Thrissur on a BJP ticket. If Padmaja is in Thrissur, the question of who will contest in Vattiyoorkavu remains unanswered.

Kazhakoottam is another key constituency. Former Union Minister V Muraleedharan has been working at the grassroots in this constituency for many years. In the reorganisation that followed Rajeev Chandrasekhar becoming president, V Muraleedharan’s faction was sidelined — but if that approach is not followed in seat allocation, he will contest from Kazhakoottam. Otherwise, state general secretary S Suresh, a close confidant of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, will be considered for the seat.

In the Thiruvananthapuram Central constituency, VV Rajesh is currently being considered. There is no change in Kattakkada — PK Krishnadas remains the first preference. Many are closely watching whether former state president K Surendran will contest in both Konni and Manjeshwaram, as he did last time. However, the current plan is to field K Surendran from Varkala constituency, which includes Sivagiri.

In Chengannur, the plan is to field PS Sreedharan Pillai, who stepped down as Governor. For Sobha Surendran, who contested from Kazhakoottam last time, the BJP leadership has earmarked the Puthukkad seat in Thrissur. When Suresh Gopi won the Lok Sabha election, the BJP had the lead in six assembly constituencies, including Puthukkad.

State general secretary Anoop Antony may contest again from the Thiruvalla seat this time. PC George will be given Poonjar, his home turf, and his son and vice president Shone George will be given Pala. There will be no change for MT Ramesh in Kozhikode North. The current plan is to give the Kannur seat to CK Padmanabhan, who contested from Dharmadom in 2021. The BJP has set aside Kayamkulam for BDJS leader Thushar Vellappally. The party intends to field minority morcha leaders GG Joseph in Ernakulam and Noble Mathew in Kanjirappally.

Even though Amit Shah dreams of forming the government in Kerala in 2026, the BJP is preparing for a strong contest in fewer than 40 seats.