Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP’s central leadership has chosen its Thiruvananthapuram district president S. Suresh as the candidate for Vattiyoorkavu, dumping senior leader Kummanam Rajashekaran.
As expected, K. Surendran will contest from Konni and Raveesha Tantri Kuntar from Manjeswaram.
Yuva Morch state president Prakash Babu is the BJP candidate in Aroor and C. G. Rajagopal in Ernakulam.
Senior leader O. Rajagopal had on Saturday ascertained that Mr Rajasekharan will be the candidate here. Mr Rajasekharan, who had earlier insisted that he would not be a candidate, later hanged his stance and expressed his willingness to contest the bypoll.
“I was on the list sent by the state leadership,” Mr Rajasekharan told reporters here. “We dont know what happened. Anyway, they can pick only one person.”
The choice of Mr Surendran for Konni suggests the BJP is still banking on the sentiments of Sabarimala devotees to spin votes.
In the Lok Sabha elections, he had come third in Pathanamthitta and cornered 46,506 votes from Konni assembly segment as against Anto Antony's 49,667 and Veena George's 46,946.
Mr Kuntar had given a tough fight to IUML's N. A. Nellikkunnu in Kasaragod in the 2016 assembly poll when he lost by 8,607 votes, pushing the LDF candidate to a distant third.
BJP central leadership has decided to take over Aroor assembly seat from BDJS signalling an imminent break-up in the NDA. Even after BDJS president Tushar Vellappally held talks with BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi, there was no change in the stand.
