KOCHI: The BJP national leadership is expected to finalise the candidate list for the Kerala assembly election by March 13. The party’s Central Parliamentary Board meeting is scheduled to be held on March 12 and 13 in Delhi where the candidate list for the five states going to assembly polls will be finalised, said sources.
Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Kerala Prabhari Prakash Javadekar, national organising general secretary B L Santhosh, state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and former presidents V Muraleedharan, K Surendran and Kummanam Rajasekharan will participate in the meeting.
The state leadership has submitted a list of three candidates each for all A class constituencies in the state and there are chances of some surprise candidates, including some actors, entering the fray this time.
The national leadership has already given the nod for some senior leaders to start campaigning in around 10 assembly constituencies. Former Union minister V Muraleedharan (Kazhakootam), former state presidents K Surendran (Manjeswaram), P K Krishnadas (Kattakkada), state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Nemom), Sobha Surendran (Palakkad), C Krishnakumar (Malampuzha), Padmaja Venugopal (Thrissur), K Gopalakrishnan (Kodungallur), Anoop Antony (Thiruvalla) and Shone George (Pala) have already completed their first round of campaign, visiting prominent personalities in their constituency.
Major Ravi’s name is prominent among the candidates considered for Ottappalam. The BJP is focusing on 35 constituencies where the party has polled more than 30,000 votes in the Lok Sabha and local body polls held recently.
The party leadership has sensed high opportunity in Chengannur and Aroor constituencies in Alappuzha district and may introduce surprise candidates here. The name of Alappuzha south district president Sandeep Vachaspati is prominent among the probables in Chengannur.