THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The official list of the BJP candidates contesting the ensuing by-elections has come out with the party national leadership releasing the list of candidates.
While veteran leader and former state president Kummanam Rajashekharan who was the first name in the list of candidates proposed to contest from Vatiiyoorkavu constituency is not in the list and party Thiruvananthapuram district president S Suresh is the candidate.
BJP state general secretary K Surendran will contest from Konni, Yuvamorcha state president KP Prakash Babu from Aroor, CG Rajagopal is the party candidate from Ernakulam while Raveesa Tantri Kundararu is the BJP candidate from Manjeswaram.
The removal of Kummanam from the list came as a major surprise as till Saturday night when the list was forwarded to New Delhi, Kummanam was the front runner. Last-minute manoeuvrings in New Delhi led to his name being removed from the final list.
With the candidature of Suresh for Vattiyoorkavu seat, BJP seems to have lost the edge and the chances of the UDF candidate K Mohankumar of Congress party has brightened.
“I wholeheartedly support the candidature of Suresh for the Vattiyoorkavu assembly seat and I will be campaigning for his victory,” Kummanam Rajashekharan told media persons.
BJP Thiruvananthapuram district president S Suresh while speaking to media persons said, "BJP is a political party which is contesting on an ideological basis and there is no issue in the party regarding my candidature and I am contesting with the blessings of Kummanam Rajashekharan, O Rajagopal and party state president PS Sreedharan Pillai.”