Pathanamthitta: Senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan will contest from the Aranmula Assembly constituency, with the party high command stepping in to finalise the seat after internal protests over its allocation.

The decision comes after strong opposition within the party to a proposal to allot the Aranmula seat to the ally BDJS. Party sources said Rajasekharan agreed to contest following directions from the central leadership and will begin campaigning in the constituency later in the day.

The announcement came as part of the BJP’s second list of 39 candidates, which was released on Thursday. 

Earlier this week, the BJP released its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections, fielding former Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V Muraleedharan and George Kurian from Nemom, Kazhakoottam and Kanjirappally constituencies, respectively.

BJP Second List of Candidates (Kerala Assembly Elections)

  • Kasaragod – Ashwini ML
  • Kalliasseri – A V Sanil Kumar
  • Taliparamba – N Haridas
  • Dharmadam – K Ranjith
  • Thalassery – O Nidhi
  • Kuthuparamba – Adv. Shijilal
  • Mattannur – Biju Elakkuzhi
  • Kalpetta – Prashanth Malavayal
  • Kondotty – P Subrahmanyan
  • Eranad – Adv. N Sreeprakash
  • Manjeri – Padmashree M
  • Perinthalmanna – Adv. K P Baburaj
  • Mankada – Lijoy Paul
  • Malappuram – Aswathi G
  • Vengara – Jayakrishnan V N
  • Vallikkunnu – M Preman Master
  • Tirurangadi – Riju C Raghav
  • Tanur – Deepa Puzhakkal
  • Tirur – K Narayanan Master
  • Thavanur – Ravi Thelath
  • Thrithala – V Unnikrishnan Master
  • Pattambi – Adv. P Manoj
  • Kongad – Renu Suresh
  • Tarur – Suresh Babu
  • Chittur – Pranesh Rajendran
  • Alathur – K V Prasanna Kumar
  • Guruvayur – Adv. B Gopalakrishnan
  • Wadakkanchery – Adv. T S Ullas Babu
  • Ollur – Bijoy Thomas
  • Nattika – CC Mukundan
  • Pudukkad – A Nagesh
  • Aluva – M A Brahmaraj
  • Paravur – Vatsala Prasannakumar
  • Ernakulam – P R Sivasankar
  • Changanassery – B Radhakrishna Menon
  • Alappuzha – M J Job
  • Aranmula – Kummanam Rajasekharan
  • Kundara – Dr Robin Radhakrishnan
  • Kollam – Dr N Prathap Kumar