Lok Sabha polls: BJP announces Kerala, Bengal candidates

Aiming to make inroads into political environments that have proved challenging for it thus far, BJP national general-secretary Vinod Tawde on Saturday announced the first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, hinting at the party's readiness for the big contest.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the saffron party's list includes 51 seats from Uttar Pradesh, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 20 from West Bengal, 15 each from Gujarat and Rajasthan, 12 from Kerala, 9 from Telangana, 11 each from Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, 5 from Delhi, 3 from Uttarakhand, 2 each from Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and 1 each from Goa, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Daman and Diu. It also replaced as many as 33 sitting MPs with new faces.

In Kerala, the BJP has fielded Union minister and MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, a constituency held by senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor for three straight terms. For Chandrasekhar, this will be his first Lok Sabha contest.

As expected, BJP fielded actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi from Thrissur and Union minister of state for external affairs V. Muraleedharan from Attingal constituency, currently represented by Congress' Adoor Prakash.

While veteran M.T. Ramesh was fielded from Kozhikode, Anil Antony, son of former defence minister and Congress veteran AK Antony was fielded from Pathanamthitta.

In the wake of the Sabarimala temple entry controversy, the BJP had fielded state president K. Surendran as the candidate from Pathanamthitta, where the temple is located. This time, Surendran's name hasn’t featured in the 12-member list. The southern state has a total of 20 Lok Sabha seats. The party has fielded Muslim candidate Dr Abdul Salam from Malappuram.

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In Bengal, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and Shantanu Thakur are among the 195 candidates who featured in the first list of nominees announced by the BJP. While there are 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, the party announced the names of 20 candidates.

Once a Trinamool Congress youth leader from the North Bengal district of Cooch Behar, 38-year-old Nisith Pramanik jumped ship to the BJP in March 2019 and trumped his former party's well-entrenched leader Paresh Adhikary with over 54,000 votes in the general elections from the Cooch Behar (SC) seat which took place two months later.

In July 2021, Pramanik became the junior home minister in the dual Union ministries of Home Affairs as well as Youth Affairs and Sports following a cabinet reshuffle during the term of the second Modi government.

In Bengal, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and Shantanu Thakur are among the 195 candidates who featured in the first list of nominees announced by the BJP. While there are 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, the party announced the names of 20 candidates.

Once a Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth leader from the north Bengal district of Cooch Behar, the 38-year-old Pramanik jumped ship to the BJP in March 2019 and trumped his former party's well-entrenched leader Paresh Adhikary by over 54,000 votes in the general elections from the Cooch Behar (SC) seat two months later.

In July 2021, Pramanik became the junior home minister in the dual Union ministries of home affairs as well as youth affairs and sports, following a cabinet reshuffle during the Modi government's second term.

A BJP MLA from the Madarihat (ST) constituency of north Bengal's Alipurduar district in two back-to-back state polls of 2016 and 2021, Manoj Tigga currently serves as the party's chief whip in the Bengal Assembly, having replaced sitting MP John Barla in Alipurduar in his candidacy for the upcoming general elections. 

After the BJP announced Majumdar's candidature from the Balurghat constituency, the party's current president of West Bengal and a first-time MP expressed confidence that the selected candidates will gift more seats to the party.

First list of Kerala BJP candidates

Palakkad: C. Krishnakumar

Thrissur: Suresh Gopi

Alappuzha: Sobha Surendran 

Pathanamthitta: Anil Antony 

Thiruvananthapuram: Rajeev Chandrasekhar 

Kozhikode: MT Ramesh 

Malappuram: Dr Abdul Salam

Ponnani: Nivedita Subrahmanian

Attingal: V Muralidharan

Vadakara: Praful Krishna

Kasaragod: ML Ashwini

Kannur: C Raghunath